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^LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 




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*UM'JtU BTATliS Uf -AMERICA. 









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SAYINGS OF SAGES: 



@r, Selections from bistinguisl^eb 



PREACHERS, POETS, PHILOSOPHERS, 



AND OTHER AUTHOES, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 



A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.— Pbov. xxv, 11. 



COMPILED BY 

E. C. R E Y O N S. 

WITH AN mTEODUCTION, 

By EDWARD THOMSON, D. D. 




PUBLISHED BY CAKLTOIS}- & ^OETER, 

200 MULBEEEY-STEEET. 

1863. 



v^' 



fe-^^' 



01 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by 
CARLTON $t PORTER, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New York. 





\ 






(^^i6 w^mie^ 0^ Golden Thoughts 


u mo^^ 


ia/iecmim/Q tm^cU^ecl^ la 






REV. 


JAMES PORTER, D. 


D., 




06 a 6uad^ 


^Ae7t/ oJ^ e^leem/ AW 


cne^ 


cema 


mi6 iena6i€<^ mi6 ^W'm{A.c/i'^ ^olw w-iln/ 


/u6 i^aice'^ 


mid^ Ae?i4 ^^^^^^ cmlmammecl^ ^eWcce/ 


tn/ 


t/ie. 


woid^ c^O Maclocmtu'^n^^ mtd^ clm€^?imat(m^ 


de^ 


aiea/^ lucm4 


^^ ^hialt'aniYn^ 








BY THE COMPILER. 



naA'l^ /o^ &e/v-eiav 'ue^cU Aa^t^ io (X^M/q ^^^ iaiey 
idauaAld opo Me/ a(imoi6 ti^e/ ieaa^ and^ i?!/ cu^?^ 

10^06 6'C'?miai^i2) (^i^^cmtcmiecl, ^a Tnade^ mede/ &e/ec- 
lcon6 m&^ Au'ncfAa/'^ to^'a c4^ con^eUalcan : ma/^ 
occr^ joc'n'l^ aameimai num.^erec/'^ 6'e'v-6iav nunaleoi^ 

6-caice'^ moim^ m/ OAic^uc^ a/?icl^ Oiwwale^ uMc&u'e6^ 
a/-^ noTne/ anc/^ avloac/^ ana^ Aotti/ ome'r^ 6aMce6 



iemaidecl^ idal '''' a'^ mau^ w-mcn"^ &nomc/^ con- 



TO THE KEADER. 



'O 



'??ian^ 16 ojiucu^ neec/ea ; and mage^ied ina'/'^ me"^ 

tn^ io/ucai-^ /(/l'}7i/ /o'r^ com'-enien^'^ ieJeience and^ 
O^tiJmnedj ma/'^ omeii mm/^-^ male/ me/ Giiioft^ 
a?td'^ O^ueaiuie/ cjP ine^n^. 

^le^ Miaae^tiow ica6 acled^ uA(y?i ; tn& delcdci 

ine^ aiianae^nenp^ ^ecna^^ ca7Ji77iilt6d^ la Me/ 

ie/ cf^ d natcnd Atend, w/ia auo cantUMcted'^ 

'■ma/te^ aem6 la me^ ccuectt'a^^ and"^ Ine^ iedui/'^ 

6 Ushecf/m/ii2i ^t^^'^uUed' la me/ Oiiu^u'c^ nald?ia/ 

ma/^ me/ l^ene7}ozen/'^ end^ OViia/iaied^ Tuay^ id 

ieau/zed'l 



THE COMPILER. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Ability 11 

Abuse 11 

AccoiiiioDATioN (See also Kind- 
ness) 11 

Action (See also Industry) 12 

Adoption, Justification 12 

Advantage 13 

Adversity (See also Aifiiction) . . 13 

Advice (See also Counsel) 15 

Affectation 16 

Afflictions (See also Advers- 
ity) 17 

Affluence (See also Wealth) ... 20 

Age 20 

Ambition 21 

Ancestry 22 

Angels 22 

Anger 24 

Anticipation 25 

Antiquity 26 

Appearance 26 

Applause 26 

Arrogance 27 

Atheism (See also Unbelief) 27 

Atonement 28 

Avarice (See also Covetousness) . 29 

Beauty 29 

Behavior 30 

Belief 30 

Beneficence (See also Charity) . . 31 

Bible 32 

Bigotry 35 

Blasphemy 36 

Blessings 36 



PAGE 

Body 36 

Books 37 

Calumny 39 

Candor 39 

Censoriousness 40 

Censure 41 

Character (See also Eeputation). 42 

Charity 42 

Cheerfulness 44 

Children 45 

Christ 46 

Christian, becoming one 48 

Christianity 49 

Christians 52 

Church 54 

Civility 55 

Comforts 55 

Commandments ' 55 

Complaints 56 

Complaisance 56 

Conceit (See also Vanity) 56 

Confidence 57 

Conscience 57 

Consolation 60 

Contentment 60 

Controversies 63 

Conversation 64 

Conversion 66 

Counsel 66 

Courage 67 

Covetousness (See also Avarice). 67 

Creation 69 

Credulity 71 

Cross, the 71 



viii 


COXTENTS. 




CtjimixG 


— 


Frankness 

Friends, Friendship (See also 


106 


CtlEIOSITY 


.... 73 


Custom 


.... 73 


Love) 


106 






Frugality 


111 


Death 


.... 73 


Future 


112 


Deceit 


.... 78 






Deception 


.... 79 


Genius 


113 


Decision 


.... 79 


Gentleman 


114 


Deeds 


.... 79 


Glory 


114 


Dependence 


.... 79 


God 


115 


Desire 


.... 79 


Gold 


120 


Despair 

Devotion (See also Prayer) . . 


.... 80 
.... 80 




121 
122 


Goodness 


Discontent 


.... 81 


Gospel 


123 


Dissimulation 


.... 81 


Grace 

Gratitude 

Grave (See also Death) 


125 
127 
128 


Divinity 


81 


Doing Good 


.... 82 


Drunkenness 


. . . . 83 


Greatness 


129 


Duty 


.... 83 


Grief 


129 


Earnestness 


... 84 


Habit 


130 


Economy 


... 85 


Happiness 


. 131 


Education 


... 85 


Hatred (See also Eevenge) 


136 


Egotism 


... 87 


Health 


136 


Eloquence 


87 


Heart 

Heaven 


138 
138 
140 
140 
140 
142 


Eminence 

Employment 


... 88 
88 


Hell 

Holiness 

Holy Spirit 

Home 


EAfTTT, A TTmvr ...... ... , 


89 


Enemies 


89 


Envy 


... 90 


Eternity 


... 92 


Honesty 


142 


Evil 


... 93 


Honor 


143 


Example 


... 94 


Hope 


144 


Expectation 


... 95 


Humanity 


146 


Experience 


... 95 


Humility 


146 


Eye 


... 95 


Hypocrisy 


148 






Hypocrite 


150 


Faith 


... 96 






Fame 


... 99 


Idleness (See also Industry)... 


151 


Fashion 


.. 100 


Idolatry 

Ignorance 


151 
152 


Faults 


... 100 


Fear 


. . . 100 


Imagination 


152 


Feelings 

Felicity 


. . . 101 
, . . 101 


Immorality 


152 
152 
153 
154 


Immortality 

Improvement 


Flattery 


. . . 102 


Folly 


... 102 


Independence 


Forgiveness 


... 102 


Indolence 


154 


Fortitude 


. . . 104 


Industry 


155 
156 


Fortune 


. . . 105 











CONTENTS. 


ix 




PAGE 




PiGK 




. . . 157 


Misery 

Misfortune 


195 

196 


Ingratitude 


. . . 158 


T 


. . . 160 


Modesty 

Money 

Morality 

Motives 

Music 

Mystery 


196 
197 
198 
198 
198 
199 




... 160 




. . . 161 




... 161 




... 161 


Intemperance 


... 162 


Intention 


. . . 162 










Natuee 


199 


Jealousy 


. . . 162 


Neglect 


201 




... 162 




201 
202 


Joy (See also Happiness). . . . 


... 163 


Nobility 


Judgment 


. . . 163 


Novels 


202 


Justice 


. . . 164 






Justification 


. . . 164 


Obedience 


203 






Obligation 


203 


Kindness 


... 165 


Obstinacy 

Occupation 


203 
203 


Knowledge 


. .. 165 


, Imperfect 


... 166 


Old Age (See Age) 


204 




Omnipresence 


204 


Labor 


... 168 


Opinion 


205 


Laws 

Learjhng 

Leisure 


... 168 
... 168 
... 169 




205 
205 






Liberality 


... 169 


Pardon 


206 


Liberty 


... 169 


Passion 


206 


Lies 


... 170 


Past, the 


207 


Life 


... 170 


Patience (See also Eesignation) . 


207 


Love (See also Affection) 


... 175 


Peace (See also War) 


208 


Lying 


... 177 


Perfection 


208 
209 


Persecution 


Madness 


... 177 


Perseverance 


210 


Magnanimity 


... 177 


Piety 


210 


Malice 


... 177 


Pity 


211 


Man 


... 179 


Pleasure 


211 


Mankind (See Man) 


... 187 


Poetry 


213 


:&L4.RRIAGE 


... 187 


Politeness 


213 


MjUITYRDOM 


... 189 


Poor (See also Poverty) 

Poverty (See also Adversity) . . . 


214 


Matrimony (See Marriage). 


... 189 


214 




... 189 


Power 

Praise 


215 

215 


Meekness 


... 190 


Memory 


... 190 


Prayer 


216 


Mercy 

Merit 


... 191 
... 192 


Preaching 


219 
220 
221 


Present, the 

Pride 


Messiah (See also Olirist). . . 


... 192 


Mind, the 


... 193 


Procrastination 


223 


Ministers 


... 193 


Profession 


223 


Ministry (See Ministers). . . 


... 195 


Progress 


224 



X CONTENTS. 


PEOillSES 

Peospeeity 

Peovidence 

Peudenoe 


224 
224 
226 

227 

227 

228 

228 
228 
229 
229 
230 
230 
231 
238 
238 
238 
242 
243 
243 
244 
245 
245 
246 
247 
248 

248 
249 
251 
251 
253 
253 
254 
254 
255 
255 
255 
256 
256 
260 
260 
260 
261 
262 
262 
263 
263 


Spieit 

Success 

SUFFEEING 

Sympathy (See also Pity) 

Talent 

Teaes 

Tempee 


. 264 
. 265 
. 266 
. 266 

. 266 
. 266 
. 266 
. 267 
. 267 
. 267 
. 268 
. 268 
. 270 
. 271 
. 271 
. 272 
. 273 
. 274 

. 276 
. 276 
. 276 
. 277 

. 277 
. 277 
. 277 

. 278 
. 278 
. 278 
. 279 
. 280 
. 280 

. 283 
. 284 
. 284 
. 286 
. 286 
. 286 
. 288 
. 289 
. 290 
. 290 

. 292 

. 293 


Quaeeels 


Eeading 


Temperance 

Thankfulness 


Eeason 

Eeconciliation 

Eedemption 

Eefinement 

Eegeneeation 

Eeligion (See also Christianity) . 
Opposition to it 


Theatee 

Thoughts 


Time 

Titles 

Tongue 

Teifles 

Teinity, the 

Trouble 


, Danger of Delay 

Eepentance 

Eeputation 


Truth 


Eesignation 


Unanimity 

Unbelief (See also Atheism) . . 

Uncertainty 

Unfairness 

Universe 


Eesolution 

Eest 

Eesueeection 

Eevenge (See also Hatred) 

ElCHES 

ElDICULE 


Unworthiness 

Usefulness 

Vainglory 

Valor 

Vanity 


Sabbath, the 

Satan . : 

Savioue, the (See also Christ).. 

SCEIPTUEE 

Self-Examination 

Selfishness 

Self-Knowledge 


Vice 


Vietue 

War (See also Peace) 

Weakness 

Wealth (See also xiffluence) . . . 
Wickedness 


Sh\me 


Sickness 


Silence 

Simplicity 

Sin 


Wife 

Wisdom 

Wit 

Woman 

Words 

World 

Youth 


Sins, Little 

Sincerity 

Slandee 

Sleep 




Solitude 

SoEEOW 

Soul 


Zeal 



INTBODUOTION. 



Here is a book of the best thoughts of some of the wisest men : 
truths which lie at the foundations of reasoning ; principles of great 
moral importance and practical usefulness ; just sentiments in excel- 
lent forms of speech, "like apples of gold in pictures of silver ;" views 
of human nature and human life, which for their correctness and com- 
prehensiveness have obtained currency among all classes, and embodj 
the opinions of all ; and views of God and his relations and claims, 
which commend themselves at once to the reason and conscience of 
mankind. In addition there will be found sayings or apothegms 
which possess value and force from the character of their authors, 
those little and short utterances which, as TiUottson says, are like 
sparks of diamonds. 

Such a book presents doctrines in essence, science in abstract, 
ethics in maxims, vrisdom in proverbs, observation and experience in 
the ripe fruit. It is like those gravelly beds into which the mountain 
torrents have washed nuggets of gold. It would require much and 
various reading to obtain such an amount of valuable thought. If a 
patient and judicious student, with access to an ample library, should 
enter in a common-place book all the choice thoughts of his reading, 
he would require many years to obtain a book containing as mucli of 
wisdom in beautiful forms as this one contains. It is multum in 
pa/rvo. It embraces a vast range of subjects: education, marriage, 
government, wisdom, wealth. Scripture. It gives encouragement to 
virtue, and warning against crime ; it exposes errors of the thoughtless, 
guards against mistakes of the careless and blunders of the ignorant. 

To the learned it will be a remembrancer, to the simple an instructor, 
to all a pleasant vade-mecum and a useful book of reference. In order 



INTRODUCTIOK 



to facilitate the last purpose its utterances have been alphabetically 
arranged. He who wishes to compose on almost any theme will 
here find something which will serve him for illustration, or may be, 
for foundation, or which may put him upon the right track, or which 
may give new impetus to his thoughts. Such a work as this does not 
invite to plagiarism^ but to reflection; it will often be found to give 
the mind a good tone, to lift it up to a more elevated plane. We are 
more imitative than we are willing to allow, more so than we sup- 
pose, and mentally as well as physically. Hence the value of famil- 
iarity with strong thought and charming style. 

If we supposed the book would be used merely to ornament dis- 
course, or store the memory with usefal knowledge, we should set 
but little value upon it. Malebranche said if all truth were in my 
possession, I would let some of it go for the pleasure of pursuing it ; 
and another philosopher said, "If the Almighty were to hold out all 
truth in one hand, and the search after truth in the other, I would 
choose the latter." It is chiefly because of its suggestive character 
that a book like this is serviceable. "While it puts us in possession of 
precious moral gems, it prompts to the search after more, and assists 
and guides us in the pursuit. We have not been able to read all the 
proof of this work which has been submitted to us, but from what 
we have examined we have no doubt that the compilation is judi- 
cious. That it is free from error we can hardly presume, for what 
human work is ; but that it will be found a valuable companion to 
any man we have no doubt. 



SAYINGS OF SAGES. 


Although a want of abilities 
renders a man less likely to be 
useful in society, yet accomplish- 
ments too frequently are made the 
occasion of doing much mischief, 
Not that they are so in themselves; 
but by filling the mind with pride, 
and above all, by drawing into too 
much, or improper company, many 
are spoiled for the business they 
are brought up to. But this is not 
all: we too often see that great 
abilities are sometimes attended 
with great vices, and however 
some may perfectly understand 
their duty, yet they do not prac- 
tice it. Let the consideration of 
this make men of such accomplish- 
ments carefully avoid the snares 
they are exposed to, and use their 
abilities only in the cause of relig- 
ion, virtue, or learning. — Seed. 


canst bear ill language with ease, 
and return it with pleasure ; and 
to me it is unusual to hear^ and 
disagreeable to speak it." 


The man who labors to please 
his neighbor for his good to edifi- 
cation has the mind that was in 
Christ. It is a sinner trying to 
help a sinner, A hard man may 
be reverenced, but men will like 
him best at a distance; he is an 
iron man. Christ might have 
driven Thomas from his presence 
for his unreasonable incredulity — 
but not so! It is as though he 
had said, "I will come down to 
thy weakness; if thou canst not 
believe without thrusting thy hand 
into my side, then thrust in thy 
hand," Even a feeble but kind 
and tender man will effect more 
than a genius who is rough or 
artificial. There is danger, doubt- 
less, of humoring others; and 
against this we must be on our 
guard. It is a kind and accom- 
modating spirit at which we must 
aim. When the two goats met on 


Cato, being scurrilously treated 
by a low and vicious fellow, quiet- 
ly said to him: "A contest be- 
tween us is very unequal, for thou 



12 



ACTION — ADOPTION AND JUSTIFICATIO^v 



the bridge, which was too narrow 
to allow either to pass the other 
or to return, the goat which lay 
down, that the other might walk 
over him, was a finer gentleman 
than Lord Chesterfield. — Cecil. 
(See also Kixdistess.) 



%timx. 



If a man has a right to be proud 
of anything, it is of a good action 
done as it ought to be, without 
any base interest lurking at the 
bottom of it — Steexe. 

Fools measure actions after 
they are done, by the event : wise 
men beforehand, by the rules of 
reason and right. The former 
look to the end, to judge of the 
act Let me look to the act, and 
leave the end to God, — Bishop 
Hale. 

The way to be nothing is to do 
nothing. — N, Howe. 

Do not mind much what a man 
does, but what view he has in the 
action.— St. Austin. 

However brilliant an action 
may be, it ought not to pass for 
great when it is not the result of 
a great design. — La Eochefou- 

CAULD. 

No action will be considered as 
blameless unless the will was so, 
for by the will the act was dic- 
tated. — Sexeca. 



Things may be seen differ- 
ently, and differently shown ; but 
actions are visible, though motives 
are secret. 

"WouLDST thou know the law- 
fulness of the action which thou 
desirest to undertake, let thy 
devotion recommend it to divine 
blessing. If it be lawful, thou 
shalt perceive thy heart encour- 
aged by thy prayer ; if unlawful, 
thou shalt find thy prayer dis- 
couraged by thy heart. That 
action is not warrantable which 
either blushes to beg a blessing, 
or, having succeeded, dares 
not present a thanksgiving. — 
Quaeles. 

Men's actions discover their 
inclinations, and often reveal 
what they would fain conceal. 

The actions of men ai'e like the 
index of a book ; they point out 
what is most remarkable in them. 
(See also Industet.) 



As all the human race by the 
fall and actual sin are by nature 
the children of wrath, none can 
become God's children but in the 
way of adoption, through faith 
in Christ, by the work of the 
Spirit upon the soul, whereby 
they are justified, renewed, and 
sanctified. As adoption is a rel- 
ative blessing, perhaps it may 
not be improper to say that it is 



AD YAXTAGE — ADVERSITY. 



included in justification; how- 
ever, there is some difference in 
the precise notions that we have 
of these two. Justification is the 
act of God as a Judge ; adoption, 
as a Father : by the former we 
are discharged from condemna- 
tion, and accepted as righteous; 
by the latter we are made the 
children of God and joint-heirs 
with Christ : by the one we are 
taken into God's favor, but by 
the other into his family. Adop- 
tion may be looked upon as an 
appendage of justification, for it is 
by our being justified that we 
come into a right to all the 
honors and privileges of adoption. 
— De. Gutse. 



"Whatetee advantage we snatch 
beyond a certain portion allotted 
us by nature, is like money spent 
before it is due, which, at the 
time of regular payment, will be 
missed and regretted. — Johnson. 



No man is more miserable than 
hie that hath, no adversity; that 
man is not tried whether he be 
good or bad. And God never 
crowns those virtues which are 
only faculties and dispositions ; 
but every act of virtue is an in- 
gredient in reward; God so 
dresses us for heaven. — Tatloe. 



Adyeesitt, sage, useful guest. 
Severe instructor, but the best ; 
It is from thee alone we know 
Justly to value things below. 

SOMEEYILLE. 

As full ears load and lay com, 
so does too much fortune bend and 
break the mind. It deserves to be 
considered, too, as another ad- 
vantage, that aflfliction moves pity, 
and reconciles our very enemies ; 
but prosperity provokes envy, and 
loses us our very friends. Again, 
adversity is a desolate and aban- 
doned state; the generality of 
people are like those infamous ani- 
mals that live only upon plenty and 
rapine ; and as rats and mice for- 
sake a tottering house, so do these 
the falling man.^CnAEEOx. 

He that has never known ad- 
versity is but half acquainted with 
others or with himself. Constant 
success shows us but one side of 
the world ; for as it surrounds us 
with friends who tell us only of 
our merits, so it silences those 
enemies from whom only we can 
learn our defects. — Colton. 

Adveesitt has ever been con- 
sidered as the state in which a man 
most easily becomes acquainted 
with himself; and this effect it 
must produce by withdrawing flat- 
terers, whose business it is to hide 
our weaknesses from us; or by 
giving loose to malice, and license 
to reproach; or, at least, by cut- 
ting off those jjleasures which 
called us away from meditation on 



14 



ADVEESITY. 



our own conduct, and repressing 
that pride which too easily per- 
suades us that we merit whatever 
we enjoy. — Johnson. 

Ask the man of adversity how 
other men act toward him; ask 
those others how he acts toward 
them. Adversity is the true touch- 
stone of merit in both, happy if it 
does not produce the dishonesty 
of meanness in one, and that of 
insolence and pride in the other. 
— Geeyille. 

Adversity is the only furnace of 
friendship. — Hall. 

Evert man is rich or poor ac- 
cording to the proportion between 
his desires and enjoyments. Of 
riches as of everything else, the 
hope is more than the enjoyment. 
While we consider them as the 
means to be used at some future 
time for the attainment of felicity, 
ardor after them secures us from 
weariness of ourselves; but no 
sooner do we sit down to enjoy 
our acquisitions than we find them 
insufficient to fill up the vacuities 
of life. ligature makes us poor 
only when we want necessaries, 
but custom gives the name of pov- 
erty to the want of superfluities. 
It is the great privilege of poverty 
to be happy unenvied, to be 
healthy without physic, secure 
without a guard, and to obtain 
from the bounty of nature what 
the great and wealthy are com- 
pelled to procure by the help of 



art. Adversity has ever been con- 
sidered as the state in which a 
man most easily becomes acquaint- 
ed with himself, particularly being 
free from flatterers. Prosperity is 
too apt to prevent us from ex- 
amining our conduct ; V)ut as ad- 
versity leads us to think properly 
of our state, it is most beneficial to 
us. — Johnson. 

A SMOOTH sea never made a 
skillful mariner, neither do unin- 
terrupted prosperity and success 
qualify men for usefulness and hap- 
piness. The storms of adversity, 
like those of the ocean, rouse the 
faculties, and excite the invention, 
prudence, skill, and fortitude of 
the voyager. The martyrs of 
ancient times in bracing their 
minds to outward calamities, ac- 
quired a loftiness of purpose and 
a moral heroism worth a lifetime 
of softness and security. 

Adversity is the trial of princi- 
ple. Without it a man hardly 
knows whether he is honest or 
not. — Fielding. 

Adversity is the true scale to 
weigh friends in.— Shakspeare. 

Adversity exasperates fools, de- 
jects cowards, draws out the facul- 
ties of the wise and industrious, 
puts the modest to the necessity 
of trying their skill, awes the 
opulent, and makes the idle indus- 
trious. ^ 

(See also Affliction.) 



ADVICE. 



He that gives good advice 
builds with one hand ; he that 
gives good counsel and example 
builds with both ; but he that 
gives good admonition and bad 
example builds with one hand and 
pulls down with the other. — 
Bacox. 

Be well advised, and much good 
counsel take, 

Before you any business under- 
take ; 

When undertaken, your endeavors 
bend 

To bring your actions to a perfect 
end. J Eaxdolph. 

Theee is nothing more difficult 
than the art of making advice 
agreeable. 

We give away nothing so lib- 
erally as advice. — La Eociiefou- 

CAULD. 

We ask advice, but we mean 
approbation.— CoLTOx. 

Advice is like snow, the softer 
'it falls the longer it dwells upon, 
and the deeper it sinks into the 
mind. — Coleeidge. 

Advice and reprehension re- 
quire the utmost delicacy; and 
painful truths should be delivered 
in the softest terms, and expressed 
no further than is necessary to 
produce their due effect. A court- 



eous man will mix what is concil- 
iating with what is offensive; 
praise with censure ; deference 
and respect with the authority of 
admonition, so far as can be 
done in consistence with probity 
and honor. For the mind revolts 
against all censorian power which 
displays pride or pleasure in find- 
ing fault, and is wounded by tlie 
bare suspicion of such disgraceful 
tyranny. But advice, divested of 
the harshness, and yet retaining 
the honest warmth of truth, " is 
like honey put round the brim of 
a vessel full of wormwood." Even 
this vehicle, however, is sometimes 
insufficient to conceal the draught 
of bitterness. — Percival. 

Take sound advice, proceeding 

from a heart 
Sincerely yours, and free from 

fraudful art. Detdex. 

He who can take advice is 
sometimes superior to him who 
can give it. — Vox Ktjeble. 

Advise not what is most pleas- 
ant, but what is best. — Solox. 

The chief rule to be observed 
in the exercise of this dangerous 
office of giving advice is, to pre- 
serve it pure from all mixture of 
interest or vanity ; to forbear ad- 
monition or reproof when our 
consciences tell us that they are in- 
cited, not by the hopes of reform- 
ing faults, bnt the desire of showing 
our discernment, or gratifying our 
own pride by the mortification of 



16 



AFFECTATION. 



another. It is not indeed certain 
tliat the most refined caution will 
find a proper time for bringing a 
man to the knowledge of his own 
failings, or the most zealous be- 
nevolence reconcile him to that 
judgment by which they are de- 
tected. But he who endeavors 
only the happiness of him whom 
he reproves will always have 
either tlie satisfaction of obtaining 
or deserving kindness: if he suc- 
ceeds, he benefits his friend ; if he 
fails, he has at least the conscious- 
ness that he suffers for only doing 
well. — Eamblee. 

(See also Counsel.) 



Affectation in any part of our 
carriage is lighting up a candle to 
our defects, and never fails to 
make us taken notice of, either 
as wanting sense or sincerity. — 
Blaie. 

Affectation is the greatest en- 
emy both of doing well and good 
acceptance of what is done. I 
hold it the part of a wise man to 
endeavor rather that fame may 
follow him than go before him. — 
Hall. 

Do not affect to appear so de- 
vout, nor more humble tlian you 
ought, for fear that in flying glory 
you seem to seek after it: for 
many persons who hide their 
charity and their fasts from the 
eyes of the world, desire to please 



even because they are not solicit- 
ous to please. And it happens, I 
do not know how, that we desire 
praise when we shun it. An af- 
fected negligence or an affected 
nicety do not become a Christian. 
— St. Austin. 

Affectation naturally counter- 
feits those excellences Avhich are 
placed at the greatest distance 
from possibility of attainment, 
because, knowing our own defects, 
w^e eagerly endeavor to supply 
them with artificial excellence. — 
Johnson. 

Some professors pass for very 
meek good-natured people till 
you displease them. They resem- 
ble a pool or a pond: while you 
let it alone, it looks clear and lim- 
pid; but if you stir toward the 
bottom, the rising sediments soon 
discover the impurities that lurk 
beneath. — Toplady. 

Affectation is to be always 
distinguished from hypocrisy as 
being the art of counterfeiting 
those qualities which we might 
with innocence and safety be 
known to want. Hypocrisy is 
the necessary burden of villainy ; 
affectation part of the chosen trap- 
pings of folly. — Johnson. 

Those who quit their proper 
character to assume what does 
not belong to them, are, for the 
greater part, ignorant both of the 
character they leave and of the 
character they assume. — Burke. 



AFFLICTIONS. 



IT 



AFFECTATioisr discovei's sooner 
what one is, than it makes known 
what one would fain appear to be. 
— Stanislaus. 

If affectation is so unbecoming 
in common life, it is much more 
so in religion ; if it is so disgustful 
in the parlor, it is much more so 
in the pulpit. — Scott. 

Affectation is certain deform- 
ity. By forming themselves in 
fantastic models, the young begin 
■with being ridiculous and often 
end in being vicious. — Blaie. 

All affectation is the vain and 
ridiculous attempt of poverty to 
be rich. — Lavatee. 



Many pains are incident to a 
man of delicacy, wbich the unfeel- 
ing world cannot be persuaded to 
pity; and which, when they are 
separated from their peculiar and 
})ersonal circumstances, will never 
be considered as important enough 
to claim attention or deserve re- 
dress. — Johnson. 

OuE afflictions are the files and 
whetstones that set on edge our 
devotions, without which they 
grow dull and ineffectual. — Hall. 

If you would not have affliction 
visit you twice, listen at once to 
what it teaches. — Buegh. 



TiiEEE is nothing in the world 
so i)lainly proves a man to be in a 
bad state as when he is hardened 
under affliction, and feels no yield- 
ing under the stroke that bids 
him yield himself to the Lord. — 
R. Hill. 

Whatevee pretext we may as- 
sign for our afflictions, it is often 
only interest or vanity which 
causes them.-^LARocHEFOucAULD, 

God's corrections should be our 
instructions, his lashes our lessons, 
and his scourges our schoolmasters, 
whence,botli in Hebrew and Greek, 
chastening and teaching are ex- 
pressed by one word. "When the 
grace of an afflicted saint is in ex- 
ercise, his heart is like a garden 
of roses, or a well of rose-water, 
which the more they are moved 
and agitated, the sweeter is the 
fragrance they exhale. — Ceipple- 

GATE LeCTUEES. 

Not being untutored in suffer- 
ing, I learn to pity those in afflic- 
tion. YlEGIL. 

Sanctified afflictions are spirit- 
ual promotions : what a mercy to 
be better for the rod ! — R. Hill. 

The good are better made by ill, 
As odors crushed are sweeter still. 
Rogees. 

He loses the good of his afflic- 
tions who is not the better for 
them. — Spanish Peoveeb. 



18 



AFFLICTIONS. 



Eyeiiy main affliction is ourKed 
Sea, which, while it threatens to 
swallow, preserves us. — Bishop 
Hall. 

Affliction is the wholesome soil 
of virtue ; 

Where patience, honor, sweet hu- 
manity, 

Calm fortitude, take root and 
strongly flourish. 

Mallet. 

Many a man never sees into 
heaven till he sees there through 
the grave of his little child, or till 
he loses his wife, not only the bet- 
ter half, but often the whole bet- 
ter part of himself: that unuttera- 
ble loss which darkens the house, 
which darkens life itself, which 
takes the breath out of the years, 
and leaves a man to go staggering 
through the world, like one smit- 
ten at noonday with blindness. — 
Hexey Waed Beechee. 

When sickness has drawn a vail 
over the gayety of our hearts, or 
adversity eclipsed the splendor of 
our outward circumstances; when 
some intervening cloud has dark- 
ened the pleasing scenes of life, or 
disappointments opened our eyes ; 
then vice loses her fallacious al- 
lurements, and the world appears 
as an empty, delusive cheat ; then 
Jesus and the Gospel beam forth 
with inimitable luster, and Chris- 
tian virtue gains loveliness from 
such lowering providences, and 
treads the shades with more than 



mortal charms. May this recon- 
cile me, and all the sons of sorrow, 
to our appointed share of suffer- 
ings. If tribulations tend to refine 
the soul, and prepare it for glory, 
welcome distress, or whatever our 
peevish passions may miscall ca- 
lamities. These are not judgments 
or marks of displeasure to God's 
children, but necessary and salu- 
tary chastisements, as well as to- 
kens of his parental concern for 
our spiritual and eternal welfare. 
Afflictions should therefore sit 
easy upon us, since they increase 
our knowledge and humility, pro- 
mote our faith and love, and work 
out for us a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory. — 
Heevey. 

Affliction scours us of our rust ; 
and however the wicked, like trees 
in the wilderness, grow without 
culture, yet the saints, like trees 
in the garden, must be pruned to 
be made fruitful, and affliction does 
this. God will prune his people, 
but not hew them down ; the right 
hand of his mercy knows what the 
left hand of his severity is doing. 
There is as much difference be- 
tween the sufferings of the saints 
and those of the ungodly, as be- 
tween the cords with which an 
executioner pinions a condemned 
malefactor, and the bandages 
wherewith a tender surgeon binds 
his patient. — De. Aeeowsmith. 

When you see the refiner cast 
his gold into the furnace, do you 



AFFLICTIOXS. 



10 



think that he is angry with it, and 
means to cast it away? No, he 
only watches that none of it shall 
be lost, and when the dross is 
properly severed he takes the gold 
out. So the Lord acts toward his 
people, according to the promises 
in his Word, We may make use 
of another simile respecting the 
troubles of saints : the world is a 
sea of glass ; affliction, scatters our 
path with sand, ashes, and gravel, 
which keep our feet from sliding. 
The earth must be plowed, har- 
rowed, and weeded, as well as 
sown, to produce anything ; it 
must also endure many heavy 
rains, frosty nights, and scorching 
suns before it becomes fruitful; 
and while it continues, so in like 
manner a real Christian must ex- 
pect, all through his life upon 
earth, troubles, sorrows, and 
temptations. — Topladt. 

SixcE afflictions are absolutely 
necessary for every believer, it is 
a most pernicious practice to sit 
ruminating on the aggravation of 
them, and reckoning up and dwell- 
ing on the dark side, for this act- 
ually doubles and trebles them ; 
so it is also in frequently speaking 
of them to others. It is true, in- 
deed, that it relieves and comforts 
a troubled saint to tell his sorrows 
to a pious and sincere friend ; but 
to relate our trials to almost every 
one, and in almost every company, 
is imprudent and unbecoming a 
true Christian ; the best way is to 
be much in prayer, and in the con- 



stant use of all the means to trust 
God through the merits of Christ, 
either to deliver us out of our af- 
flictions, or to support us under 
them. It is also proper to make 
it a matter of repeated prayer, to 
be enabled to meet difficulties with 
a smiling countenance, and to speak 
of them as if they were small. If, 
then, we had faith in exercise un- 
der hardships, if we compared our 
sorrows with many that we must 
know have suffered much more, if 
we could cast aU our care upon 
God, and think and speak very 
little of them, our afflictions would 
almost vanish away. — Peesidext 
Edwards. 

NoxE but mean spirits dread the 
face of care. 

And none but cowards life's af- 
flictions fear ; 

All dastard spirits sink at distant 
war, 

And tremble as it threatens from 
afar; 

But rich or poor, true minds pre- 
serve their weight, 

And if exalted or debased, are 
great. Crudex. 

OxE of the greatest evidences 
of God's love to those that love 
him is, to send them afflictions, 
with grace to bear them. 

If we suffer persecution and af- 
fliction in a right manner, we at- 
tain a higher measure of conformity 
to Christ, by a due improvement 
of one of these occasions, than we 



20 



AFFLUEXCE — AGE. 



could have done merely b}' imitat- 
ing Lis mercy in abundance of 
good works. 

Coral, agates, and crystals are 
found on many a stormy shore ; 
so the Christian finds God's most 
precious gift in the rugged path 
of affliction. 

Ix affliction the purest ore 
comes from the hottest furnace, 
and the brightest flashes from the 
darkest cloud. 

Affliction is a school of virtue: 
it corrects levity, and interrupts 
the confidence of sinning. — Attee- 

BUPvT. 

(See also Adyeesitt.) 



ijge. 



Examples need not be sought 
at any great distance to prove 
that superiority of fortune has a 
natural tendency to kindle pride, 
and that pride seldom fails to 
exert itself in contempt and in- 
sult. This is often the efi'ect of 
hereditary wealth, and of honors 
only enjoyed by the merit of 
others, — Johnson. 

The most affluent may be 
stripped of all, and find his 
woi'ldly comforts, like so many 
witliei'cd leaves, droi)i)ing from 
him, — Steune. 

(See also Wealth.) 



Age seldom fails to change the 
conduct of youth. We grow neg- 
ligent of time in proportion as we 
have less remaining, and suffer the 
last part of life to steal from us 
in languid preparations for future 
undertakings, or slow approaches 
to remote advantages, in weak 
hopes of some fortuitous occur- 
rence, or drowsy equilibrations of 
undetermined counsel: whether it 
be that the aged, having tasted 
the pleasures of man's condition, 
and found them delusive, become 
less anxious for their attainment ; 
or that frequent miscarriages have 
depressed them to despair, and 
frozen them to inactivity ; or that 
death shocks them more as it 
advances upon them, and they 
are afraid to remind themselves 
of their decay, or discover to their 
own hearts that the time of trifling 
is past. — Johnson. 

Cautious age suspects the flatter- 
ing form, 

And only credits what experience 
tells. Johnson. 

In an active life is sown the 
seed of wisdom ; but he who re- 
flects not ne^'er reaps, has no 
harvest 'irom it, but carries the 
burden of iige without the wages 
of experience ; nor knows him- 
self old but from his infirmities, 
tlie parish register, and the con- 
tempt of mankind. And what 
has age if it has not esteem ? It 
has nothing. — Young. 



AGE — AMBITION. 



21 



Age should fly concourse, cover 
in retreat 

Defects of judgment, and the will 
subdue ; 

Walk thoughtful on the silent, sol- 
emn shore 

Of that vast ocean it must sail so 
soon. YorxG. 

We hope to grow old, and yet 
we fear old age ; that is, we are 
willing to live, and afraid to die. 
— Beuteee. 

'Tis greatly wise to know before 

Ave're told 
The melancholy news that we 

grow old. YouxG. 

The truth of many maxims of 
age gives too little pleasure to be 
allowed till it is felt; and the mis- 
eries of life would be increased 
beyond all human power of endur- 
ance, if we were to enter the 
world with the same opinions we 
carry from it. — Johnsox. 



%mhximx. 

Every man ought to endeavor 
at eminence, Ji6t by pulling others 
down, but by raising himself, and 
enjoy the pleasure of his own su- 
periority, whether imaginary or 
real, without interrupting others 
in the same felicity. The philos- 
opher may very justly be delighted 
with the extent of his views, and 
the artificer with the readiness of 
his hands ; but let the one remem- ! 



her that, without mechanical per- 
formances, refined speculation is 
an empty dream; and the other 
that, without theoretical reason- 
ing, dexterity is little more than a 
brute instinct. — Jonxsox. 

Ambitiox is the mother of hy- 
pocrisy ; it loves darkness, and 
cannot bear the light ; indeed, it 
carries its views to the most ex- 
alted things, but fears to be seen ; 
and we ought not to wonder at 
that, for it compasses its ends only 
by hiding itself, and flying from 
the eyes of men. In effect, the 
more we seek after glory the less 
we come to it, when we are seen 
to seek it. In fine, what is less 
glorious than to appear covetous 
of glory, especially among the min- 
isters of Christ ? — St. Beexaed. 

It is the over-curious ambition 
of many to be best or to be none : 
if they may not do so well as they 
would, they will not do so well as 
they may. Pride is the greatest 
enemy to reason, and discretion 
the greatest opposite to pride. I 
see great reason to be ashamed of 
my pride, but no reason to be 
proud of my shame. — Aethur 
Waewick. 

WoELDLY ambition is founded 
on pride or envy, but emulation 
(or laudable ambition) is actually 
founded in humility, for it evi- 
dently imi)Hes that we have a low 
opinion of our present attain- 
ments, and think it necessary to be 
advanced ; and especially in relig- 



AM BITIOX — ANCESTRY— AXGELS. 



ious concerns it is so far from being 
pride for a man to wish himself 
spiritually better, that it is highly 
commendable, and what we are 
strongly exhorted to in many 
parts of the Bible. — Bishop IIall. 

Amlitiox, thou punishment and 
rack of the ambitious ! How 
dost thou by torturing all men 
please all, even please them at the 
same time that thou tormentest 
them. — St. Berxaed. 

ISTews-huntees have great leisure 
with little thought; much petty 
ambition to be thought intelligent, 
without any other pretension than 
being able to communicate vrhat 
they have just learned. — Zimmee- 

MAXX. 

TcEEE are few men who are not 
ambitious of distinguishing them- 
selves in the nation or country 
where they live, and of growing 
considerable among those with 
whom they converse. There is a 
kind of grandeur and respect 
w^iich the meanest and most insig- 
nificant part of mankind endeavor 
to procure in the little circle of 
their friends and acquaintance. 
The yjoorest mechanic, nay, the 
man who lives upon common 
alms, gets him his set of admirers, 
and delights in that superiority 
which he enjoys over those who 
are in some respects beneath him. 
This ambition, which is natural to 
the soul of man, might, mcthinks, 
receive a very happy turn; and, if 
it were rightly directed, contribute 



much to a person's advantage, as 
it generally does to his uneasiness 
and disquiet. — Addisox. 



They who on glorious ancestors 

enlarge, 
Produce their debt instead of their 

discharge. Youxg. 

Theee may be, and there often 
is indeed, a regard for ancestry, 
which nourishes only a weak 
pride ; as there is also a care for 
posterity, which only disguises an 
habitual avarice, or hides the 
workings of a low and groveling 
vanity. But there is also a moral 
and philosophical respect for our 
ancestors which elevates the char- 
acter and improves the heart. — 
Daxiel Wecstee. 



i^ng^fe. 



The starry heaven is but, as it 
were, the floor or pavement of a 
heaven above it, the supreme or 
highest heaven, which is by con- 
sent of nations the place of the 
Almighty's most especial presence ; 
all men by a kind of natural in- 
stinct, Avith minds, eyes, and 
hands lifted up, directing thither 
their prayers to God ; and can we 
fancy that the universal King hath 
no servants to wait on him in his 
presence-chamber, when we see 
so many paying their devotion to 
him at so great a distance here 



AXGELS. 



23 



below ? Xatural reason, therefore, 
directs and leads us to an acknowl- 
edgment that there are certain 
intelligent creatures in the upper 
world who, as they are more re- 
mote from the dregs of matter 
wherein we are immersed, so they 
are of a more pure, refined, and 
excellent substance, and as far 
exceeding us in their way of un- 
derstanding and glorifying the su- 
preme God as they are of nearer 
admission to the place where his 
glory is m the most especial man- 
ner manifested ; and these are 
they who in our sacred writings 
are known by the name of angels. 
— Bull. 

AxGELS are God^s host ; they are 
enlisted, armed, and disciplined by 
him; they fight his battles, keep 
their ranks, know their place, and 
obey his commands. — Heney. 

TnorGH the doctrine of the min- 
istry of angels is evidently clear in 
the Bible, yet till our souls mingle 
with the world of spirits, our best 
ideas on the subject must be con- 
fused, and our utmost stretch of 
thought fall short of knowing much 
of their nature and the mode of 
their ministration. The good 
angels are called, in Rev. iii, 11, 
elect, in distinction from those who 
fell; they owe their appointment 
and preservation to sovereign 
grace; they are established in 
Christ, the head of God's tamily 
in heaven and on earth ; they are 
unable either to secure or hinder 



the salvation of any being; they 
never shared in redeeming love, 
yet, as members of the Lord's 
household, they are the believers' 
brethren, and are described as 
joining in the song of the re- 
deemed, and as rejoicing in the con- 
version of a sinner. All through- 
out life the good angels are invisi- 
bly near believers, and perhaps 
frequently convey comfort and 
direction, though it is difficult 
to distinguish between those assist- 
ances and what we receive from 
the Holy Spirit ; above all, these 
friendly spirits are nigh the saints 
at death, and convey their souls 
to. eternal felicity. — Cheistian's 
Magazine. 

The learned Mr. Mede argues 
from Zech. iv, 10, etc., that there 
are seven archangels ; but this is 
quite conjectural. We have only 
three mentioned in Scripture, 
namely, Michael, Raphael, and 
Gabriel, and perhaps not all these 
three are created angels, for many 
think Michael signifies Christ. 
Angels are endued with great 
knowledge, and it is likely that 
they are continually growing in 
wisdom. They are also endued 
with very great power: thus we 
read that one angel in one night 
destroyed all the first-born in 
Egypt ; an angel slew seventy 
thousand for David's sin in num- 
bering the people, and one angel 
destroyed one hundred and eighty- 
five thousand of the Assyrians 
in one night. They are also 



24: 



AXGER. 



endued witli great love to the 
saints; thus they sawr at the 
creation, but more so at the com- 
ing of Christ ; and as they are the 
saints' ministering spirits, and de- 
sire to look into the glorious niys- 
teries of redemption, as well as 
rejoice in the conversion of sin- 
ners, they certainly must have 
great love to believers. — Dn. 
"Watts. 



linger. 

Sinful anger when it becomes 
sti-ong is called wrath, when it 
makes outrages it is fury, when 
it becomes fixed it is termed ha- 
tred, and when it intends to injure 
any one it is called malice. All 
these wicked passions spring from 
anger. — Beowx. 

Hnr that is angry we must not 
oppose with anger, for a madman 
is not cured by another growing 
mad also. — Axtisthexes. 

He that would be angry and sin 
not must not be angry with any- 
thing but sin. — Secker. 

Be angry and sin not. He that 
is always angry with his sins will 
seldom sin in his anger. — Mason. 

"When" God is angry with us 'tis 
not through a principle of hatred 
that he shows his anger; 'tis to 
draw us to him even in the time 
of his anger. — St. Ciikysostom. 



Seneca saith well, that anger is 
like rain, which breaks itself upon 
that it falls. — Bacon. 

The discretion of a man defer- 
reth his anger, and it is his glory 
to pass over a transgression. — 
Bible. 

Do NOTHING in anger, for that 
is like putting to sea in a storm.— j 
Mason. 

To eepeoye in anger is like 
giving a sick person a medicine 
scalding hot. — Mason. 

To BE angry is to revenge the 
fault of others upon ourselves. — 
Pope. 

The continuance and frequent 
fits of anger produce an evil habit 
in the soul called wrathfulness, or 
a propensity to be angry, which 
oftentimes ends in choler, bitter- 
ness, and morosity; when the 
mind becomes ulcerated, peevish, 
and querulous, and like a thin, 
weak plate of iron, receives im- 
pressions, and is wounded by the 
least occurrence. —Plutarch. 

He is a f<;)ol who cannot be 
angry ; he is a wise man who will 
not. — Peoverb. 

There is an inconsistency in 
anger very common in life, which 
is, that those who are vexed to 
impatience are angry to see others 
less disturbed than themselves; 



ANGER — ANTICIPATION". 



25 



but when others begin to rave, 
they immediately see in them what 
they could not find in them- 
selves, the deformity and folly of 
useless rage. 

There is nothing said or done in 
wrath but might be better said or 
done in meekness, and therefore 
some have advised when we are 
angry we should stop and repeat 
the Lord's prayer, and perhaps by 
that time we have passed these 
words, " forgive us as we forgive 
them that trespass against us;" 
our anger may cease. — Heney. 

Angee is such a headstrong 
and impetuous passion, that the 
ancients call it a short madness; 
and indeed there is no diiference 
between an angry man and a mad- 
man while the fit continues, be- 
cause both are void of reason and 
blind for that season. It is a dis- 
ease that, where it prevails, is no 
less dangerous than deforming to 
us; it swells the face, it agitates 
the body, and inflames the blood ; 
and as the evil spirit mentioned in 
the Gospel threw the possessed 
into the fire or the water, so it 
casts us into all kind of dangers. It 
too often ruins or subverts whole 
families, towns, cities, and king- 
doms. It is a vice that very few 
can conceal ;, and if it does not be- 
tray itself by sucli external signs 
as paleness of the countenance 
and trembling of the Ihnbs, it is 
more impetuous within, and by 
gnawing in the heart injures the 



body and the mind very much. — 
Wanley. 

Angry and choleric men are as 
ungrateful and unsociable as thun- 
der and lightning, being in them- 
selves all storm and tempests; 
but quiet and easy natures are 
like fair weather, welcome to all, 
and acceptable to all men: they 
gather together what the other 
disperses, and reconcile all whom 
the other incenses. As they have 
the good-will and the good wishes 
of all other men, so they have the 
full possession of themselves, have 
all their own thoughts at peace, 
and enjoy quiet and ease in their 
own fortunes, how strait soever it 
may be. — Claeendon. 



%niuxi(^zixaxx. 

In our pursuit of the things of 
this world we usually prevent 
enjoyment by expectations ; we 
anticipate our own happiness, and 
eat out the heart and sweetness of 
worldly pleasures by delightful 
forethoughts of them; so that 
when we come to possess them 
they do not answer the expecta- 
tion nor satisfy the desires v/hich 
were raised about them, and they 
vanish into nothing. — Tillotson. 

Things temporal are sweeter in 
the expectation, things eternal are 
sweeter in the fruition ; the first 
shames thy hope, the second 
crowns it. It is a vain journey 



AXTIQUITY— xVPPEAR AXCE — AITLAU.SE. 



whose end affords less pleasure 
than the -way.— Exciiieidion. 



§.nitqurtg. 

Antiquity, like every other 
quality that attracts the notice of 
mankind, has votaries that rever- 
ence it, not from reason, but from 
prejudice. Some seem to admire 
indiscriminately whatever has 
been long preserved, without con- 
sidering that time has sometimes 
co-operated with chance. All, 
perhaps, are more willing to honor 
past than present excellence ; and 
the mind contemplates genius 
through the shades of age, as the 
eye surveys the sun through arti- 
ficial opacity. — Johxsox. 

It has been observed, that a 
dwarf standing on the shoulders 
of a giant will see further than 
the giant himself; and the mod- 
erns, standing as they do on the 
vantage-ground of former discov- 
eries, and uniting all the fruits 
of the experience of their fore- 
fathers with their own actual 
observation, may be admitted to 
enjoy a more enlarged and com- 
prehensive view of things than 
the ancients themselves; for that 
alone is true antiquity which 
embraces the antiquity of the 
world, and not that which would 
refer us back to a period when the 
world was young. But by whom 
is this true antiquity enjoyed? 
Not bv the ancients who did live 



in the infancy, but by the moderns 
who do live in the maturity of 
things. — BoLTOx. 

Sanchoxiathon is the oldest his- 
torian among profane authors, and 
only a few fragments of his writ- 
ings are extant. But he wrote 
since Moses ; so that the Old Test- 
ament is the oldest book in the 
world. 



Do xoT trust appearances, do 
not imagine ever to be in safety. 
Though this sea be sometimes as 
calm and even as the water of a 
pond, though the zephyr that 
blows upon it scarcely ruflBes the 
waves, this surface, so smiling 
and even, hides horrid mountains ; 
this great calm is a tempest. — St. 
Jeeome. 

The desire of doing well is de- 
based by the desire of appearing 
to have done well. — Stanislaus. 



Popular applause and vulgar 
opinion may blow up and mount 
upward the bubble of a vain and 
glorious mind, till it burst in the 
air and vanish ; but a wise man 
builds his glory on the strong 
foundation of virtue, without ex- 
pecting or respecting the vulgar 
props of vulgar opinion. I will 



APPLAUSE — APvROGAXCE — ATHEISM. 



27 



not neglect what every one thinks 
of me, for that were impudent 
dissoluteness. I will not make it 
my common care to hearken how 
I am cared for of the common 
sort, and be over solicitous what 
every one speaks of me, for that 
M^ere a toilsome vanity. I may do 
well and hear ill, and that's a 
kingly happiness. — TVaewick. 

It frequently happens that ap- 
plause abates diligence. Whoever 
finds himself to have performed 
more than was demanded, will be 
contented to spare the labor of 
unnecessary performances, and sit 
down to enjoy at ease his super- 
fluities of honor. But long inter- 
vals of pleasure dissipate attention 
and weaken constancy; nor is it 
easy for him that has sunk from 
diligence into sloth, to rouse out 
of his lethargy, to recollect his 
notions, rekindle his curiosity, and 
engage with his former ardor in 
the toils of study. — Johxsox. 

Applause 
"Waits on success; the fickle mul- 
titude, 
Like the light straw that floats 

along the stream. 
Glide with the current still, and 
follow fortune. 

Feaxklix. 



It has always appeared to me 
that human arrogance and inso- 



lence have reached their furthest 
limit when a clergyman, in his 
pulpit, in the house of his God, in 
the actual exercise of his ministry, 
where an overwhelming sense of 
his own littleness, in respect to the 
sacred service about which he is 
occupied, ought, methinks, to bow 
down his heart of flesh to the dust, 
and prostrate every selflsh thought 
within him, looks only to his pres- 
ent elevation above his audience, 
and discovers plainly, by his ges- 
tures and grimaces, that he is 
solely faken up with a pragmatical 
conceit of his own consequence, 
and forgets his Maker's glory in 
the mistaken pursuit of his own. 

EOBEETS. 



It has long been observed that 
an atheist has no just reason for 
endeavoring conversions ; and yet 
none harass those minds which 
they can influence with more im- 
portunity of solicitation to adopt 
their opinions. In proportion as 
they doubt the truth of their own 
doctrines, they are desirous to gain 
the attestation of another under- 
standing, and industriously labor 
to win a proselyte ; and eagerly 
catch at the slightest pretense to 
dignify their sect with a celebrated 
name. — Johxsox. 

Atheists put on a false courage 
and alacrity in the midst of their 
darkness and apprehensions, like 



28 



ATHEISM — ATONEMEXT. 



children, who, when they fear to 
go in the dark, will sing fur fear. 
— Pope. 

Theee never was a miracle 
wrought to convince an atheist; 
the works of God being fullj suf- 
ficient to prove his being. 

What can be more foolish than 
to think that all this rare fabric 
of heaven and earth could come 
by chance, when all the skill of 
art is not able to make an oyster? 
To see rare effects, and no. cause ; 
a motion without a mover; a cir- 
cle without a center ; a time with- 
out an eternity; a second without 
a first; these are things so against 
philosophy and natural reason, that 
he must be a beast in his under- 
standing who can believe in them. 
The thing formed says that noth- 
ing formed it; and that which is 
made is, while that which made 
it is not ! This folly is infinite. — 
Jeeemy Tayloe. 

(See also Unbelief.) 



%iommtxd. 

I appeeiiend this ordinance of 
the eucharist to have so plain a 
reference to the atonement or sat- 
isfaction of Christ, and to do so 
solemn an honor to that funda- 
mental doctrine of the Gospel, that 
I cannot but believe that as this 
sacred institution will be contin- 
ued to the end of the world, it will 
be impossible to root that doctrine 



out of the minds of plain, humble 
Christians : they must see the anal- 
ogy this ordinance has to eating 
the flesh of the Son of God, and 
drinking his blood, and will be 
taught by it, through faith, to 
feed on him spiritually. The en- 
emies of this heart-revi^-ing truth 
might as well hope to pierce 
through a coat of mail with a 
straw as to reach such a truth, 
defended by such an ordinance, 
by their trifling sophistries. — De. 
Doddeidge. 

The apostolical and scriptural 
doctrine of the vicarious sacrifice 
of Christ, called the atonement, 
may be proved not only from the 
typical sacrifices of the Old Testa- 
ment, but, first, from the solemn 
prophecies of tWfe sufierings of 
Christ, which fully demonstrate 
them by no means to have been 
the common sufierings of a mar- 
tyr, but those awful propitiatory 
sufferings which were to atone for 
sin; second, from the sufierings 
themselves, and the circumstances 
attending them, plainly showing 
them to be the penal piacular suf- 
ferings of the Son of God, who put 
away sin by his own sacrifice; 
third, from the dignity of Christ's 
person, which could not be fairly 
accounted for upon any other sup- 
position than of his thereby giving 
efficacy to his sacrifice, when he 
became incarnate for the import- 
ant purpose of purchasing the 
Church of God with his own 
blood; fourth, from the express 



AVARICE — BEAUTY. 



29 



declaration of the Saviour, that he 
laid his life down for the sheep, 
and that except we eat his flesh 
and drink his blood we can have 
no life in us ; lastly, it is proved 
as an indisputable fact from the 
express testimony of the apostles, 
who speak of this as the first 
leading doctrine that they had 
preached, and what they and all 
others alone could be saved by. — 
De. Eyaxs. 



%bwcut 



''Be thou ashamed, O Sidon!" 
This is the language and complaint 
of an element tired out by avai'ice; 
as if it had said, " merchants, 
greedy of gain, yon lay the fault 
upon my waves when your voy- 
ages are not successful ! You that 
are more restless and more dis- 
turbed than the waves themselves, 
be ashamed that dangers and ship- 
wrecks do not discourage you. 
The winds are more modest and 
less stormy than you are, they 
have intervals of repose ; but the 
desire of heaping up and enrich- 
ing yom-selves more .and more 
gives you no relaxation. There 
are calms when the air is still, 
when the waves are smooth and 
united, but your vessels are always 
in motion; when the wind doth 
not serve, you take up your oars. 
— St. Ambeose. 

AvAEiCE is a uniform and tract- 
able vice; other intellectual dis- 
tempers are different in different 



constitutions of mind. That which 
soothes the pride of one will of- 
fend the pride of another; but to 
the favor of the covetous bring 
money, and nothing is denied. — 

JOHNSO]^-. 

Diseases of the mind, such as 
avarice, spring from too high a 
value set upon the things by which 
the mind becomes corr^ipted. — 

CiCEEO. 

Ayaeice begets more vices than 
Priam did children ; and like Pri- 
am, survives them all. It s-tarves 
its keeper to surfeit those who 
wish him dead; and makes Mm 
submit to more mortifications to 
lose heaven, than the mai'tyr un- 
dergoes to gain it, — Coltox. 

Some men are called sagacious 
merely on account of their ava- 
rice; whereas a child can clench 
its fist the moment it is born. — 
Shexstoxe. 

The avarice of the miser may be 
temied the grand sepulcher of aU 
his other passions, as they suc- 
cessively decay. But^ unlike other 
tombs, it is enlarged by repletion, 
and strengthened by age, — Col- 

TOX. 

(See also CoYETorsxEss.) 



^mni^. 



If thou beest not so handsome 
as thou wouldest have been, thank 
God thou art not more unhand- 



30 



BEAUTY— DEIIAA'IOIl — BELIEF. 



some than tlion art. 'Tis his mercy 
thou art not the mark for passen- 
gers' fingers to point at, an Ilete- 
roclite in nature, with some member 
defective or redundant. Be glad 
that thv clay cottage hath all the 
necessary forms thereto belonging, 
though the outside be not so fairly 
plastered as some others. — Fullee. 

TnEEE are no better cosmetics 
than a severe temperance and puri- 
ty, modesty and humility, a gra- 
cious temper and calmness of spirit ; 
and there is no true beauty without 
the signatures of these graces in 
the very countenance, — Rat ox 
THE Ceeatiox, 

Oheist personifies the most 
exquisite created and uncreated 
beauty, and is the only personage 
who has received the appellation 
"altogether lovely," He will be 
the admiration of heaven for ever 
and ever. 



So behave thyself among thy 
children that they may love and 
honor thy presence. Be not too 
fond, lest they fear thee not; be 
not too bitter, lest they fear thee 
too much. Too much familiarity 
will embolden them; too little 
countenance will discourage them. 
So carry thyself, that they may 
rather fear thy disjJeasure than 
thy correction. When thou re- 
provest them, do it in season ; 



when thou correctest them, do it 
not in passion. '' As a wise child 
makes a happy father, so a wise 
father makes a happy child. — Ex- 

CHIEIDION. 

A CLOSE behavior is the fittest 
to receive virtue for its constant 
guest, because there, and there 
only, it can be secure. Proper 
reserves are the outworks, and 
must never be deserted by those 
who intend to keep the place; 
they keep oif the possibilities not 
only of being takcyi, but of being 
attempted ; and if a woman seeth 
danger, though at never so remote 
a distance, she is for that time to 
shorten her line of liberty. She 
who will allow herself to go to 
the utmost extent of everything 
that is lawful is so very near go- 
ing further, that those who lie at 
watch will begin to count upon 
her. — Savillk. 



ielief. 



The believer has matter enough 
for converse with God to wear 
out time and to fill up eternity. — 
Watts. 

now unlike the complex works 
of man, 

Heaven's easy, artless, unencum- 
bered plan! 

ISTo meretricious graces to beguile. 

No clustering ornaments to clog 
the pile. 

From ostentation as from weak- 
ness free, 



BELIEF— BENEFICEXCE. 



31 



It stands like the cerulean arch 

we see, 
Majestic in its own simplicity. 
Inscribed above the jDortals from 

afar, 
Conspicuous as the brightness of 

a star, — 
Legible onlj by the light they 

give. 
Stand the soul- quickening words, 

Believe and live ! 

COWPEE. 

If I could choose what of aU 
things would be at the same time 
the most delightful and useful to 
me, I should jjrefer a firm religious 
belief to every other blessing : for 
this makes life a discipline of good- 
ness ; creates new hopes when all 
earthly ones vanish ; throws over 
the decay of existence the most 
gorgeous of all lights ; awakens 
life even in death; makes even 
torture and shame the ladder of 
ascent to paradise ; and far above 
all combinations of earthly hopes, 
cahs up the most delightful visions 
of the future, the security of ever- 
lasting joys, where the sensualist 
and the skeptic view only gloom, 
decay, annihilation, and despair. — 
ISiE H. Davy. 



Habits of active benevolence, 
when formed with simplicity and 
singleness of heart, may yield ftir 
more advantage to ourselves than 
the limited nature of our exertions 



can allow us to confer on others. 
"It is more blessed to give than 
to receive." 

He is beneficent who acts kind- 
ly, not for his own sake, but to 
serve another. — Ciceeo. 

Theee is no use of money equal 
to that of beneficence: here the 
enjoyment grows on reflection. — 
Mackexzie. 

AccoEDixG- to TertuUian, the 
first development of the economy 
of God toward man is benevolence, 
and the reason is sufficiently clear ; 
for in order to trace the original 
inclination w6 must seek for that 
which is the most natural, as 
nature is the root from which all 
other tendencies and sensations 
spring. Having the power to 
bless, it is nature in God to diftlise 
the blessing. As the fountain 
sends forth its waters, as the sun 
expands its beams, therefore it is 
that the Son of God is assimilated 
to the Father in the characteristic 
feature of benevolence. This 
amiable disposition is strongly 
marked in these words of St. 
Peter to Cornelius: "Jesus of 
JSTazareth, who went about doing 
good." — BOSSUET. 

As benevolence is the most 
sociable of all virtues, so it is of the 
largest extent; for there is not 
any man either so great or so 
little but he is yet capable of giv- 
ing and of receiving benefits. — - 
Sexeca. 



32 



BENEFICE^XE — BIBLE. 



What a pleasure it is to give! 
There would be 11,0 rich people if 
they were capable of feeling this. 
— Chinese Provekb. 

The benevolent have the advant- 
age of the envious, even in this 
present life; for the envious is 
tormented not only by all the ill 
that befalls himself, but by all the 
good that happens to another; 
whereas the benevolent man is the 
better prepared to bear his own 
calamities unruffled, from the com- 
placency and serenity he has 
secured from contemplating the 
prosperity of all around him. 

Do good. Do good with what 
thou hast, or it will do thee no 
good. — Steetch. • 

(See also CnARiTT.) 



iiHc. 



If we love the Bible as we 
ought it is dearer to us than life, 
nearer to us than any of our rela- 
tions, sweeter to us than our lib- 
erty, and more pleasant than all 
curtlily comforts. All arguments 
against the Word of God are fal- 
lacies, all conceits against it de- 
lusions, all derisions against it blas- 
phemy, and all oi)positions against 
it madness. We speak to God in 
prayer; he speaks to us in his 
Word. We should take the can- 
dle of God's AVord and search the 
corner of our hearts. — J. Mason. 



When I find myself assailed by 
temptation I forthwith lay hold 
of some text of the Bible which 
Jesus extends to me, as this : that 
he died for me, whence I derive 
infinite hope. — LrxHER. 

The Bible, while it has so many 
wise things in it, could not have 
been the composition of fools ; nor 
yet of bad men, as the design of it 
is entirely to counteract the cor- 
rupt maxims and bad principles of 
the w^orld, and to inculcate that 
which is excellent and good; nor 
yet of designing men, as it was 
composed by so many diflerent 
penmen, and at such different 
ages of the world. — Rowland 
Hill. 

A fiery shield is God's Word, of 
more substance and purer thnn 
gold, which tried in the fire loses 
nauglit of its substance, but resists 
and overcomes all the fury of the 
fiery : even so he that believes 
God's Word overcomes all, and 
remains securer everlastingly 
against all misfortunes; for this 
shield fears nothing, neither hell 
nor the devil. — Luther. 

The richness and glory which 
rest upon the language of inspira- 
tion are peculiar to itself. We 
are never so assured that we make 
people wise unto salvation as 
when wo lead them to be ac- 
quainted with the pure Word of 
God itself.— Rowland Hill. 



BIBLE. 



33 



AViiEX the devil knew how to 
quote Scripture falsely, Christ 
knew how to quote it truly ; and it 
is for us, whenever Ave are tempted, 
to go to the Bible and see whether 
we cannot find something suitable 
for our souls in that hour of 
temptation. — Rowland Hill. 

The Bible is a map of heaven, 
a true history of the primitive 
Church, an infallible rule of life, 
an immovable ground of hope, 
and an everlasting spring of con- 
solation. 

Theee is such a fullness in the 
Bible that oftentimes it says much 
by saying nothing ; and not only 
its expressions but its silences are 
teaching, like the dial, in which 
the shadow as well as the light 
informs us. — Botle. 

Of most things it may be said, 
vanity of vanities, all is vanity; 
but of the Bible it may be truly 
said, verity of verities, all is verity. 
— De. Aeeowsmith. 

Maxy are very careful to have 
a fair and well-printed Bible; but 
the fairest and finest impression is 
to have it well printed in the 
heart by the Spirit. — Du. Aeeow- 
SMixn. 

God, in tender indulgence to our 
difi;erent dispositions, has strewed 
the Bible with flowers, dignified it 
with wonders, and enriched it 
with delight. — IIeevey. 



The oracles of God contain an 
immense variety of the most 
beautiful flowers and sublimities 
of rhetoric. — De. Gibboxs. 

The Bible is useful to all sorts of 
persons. A worldling should often 
read Ecclesiastes ; a devout per- 
son, the Psalms ; an afflicted per- 
son. Job ; a preacher, Timothy and 
Titus ; a backslider, the Hebrews ; 
a libertine, Peter, James, and 
Jude; a man that would study 
providence, Esther; and those who 
are engaged in great undertakings, 
^STehemiah. — Robixsox. 

Thou to whom belongs 

All sacrifice — thy first volume this 

For man's perusal — who runs may 

read. 
Who reads can understand — 'tis 

unconfined, 
A language lofty to the learned, 

yet j)lain 
To those who feed the flock or 

guide the plovr. Youxg-. 

Spieitual truths can only be 
spiritually discerned. The Bible is 
a most delightful and surprising 
book to those who are under the 
illuminating grace of the Gospel. — 
Rowlaxd Hill. 

IxFiDELS make it an objection 
against the purity demanded by 
the Bible, that human nature can- 
not come up to it. So they settle 
the matter, not by force of argu- 
ment, but from what they feel in 
themselves; the Bible must be 
wrong because they feel wrong. 



34 



BIBLE. 



The fact is tliat tliey love sin too 
well to believe the Bible. — How- 
land IllLL. 

TnE snin and substance of the 
preparation needed for a coining 
eternity is, that you believe what 
the Bible tells yon, and do what 
the Bible bids yon. — Chalmers. 

Still be the sacred pages yonr de- 
light. 

Read them by day and meditate 
by night ; 

Let sacred subjects in yonr bosom 
roll, 

Claim every thought, and draw in 
all your soul. Pitt. 

The Bible is a window in this 
prison of hope, through w^hich we 
look into eternity. — Dwight. 

TnE Bible don't pretend to teach 
fully of anything save man's lost 
condition, and of his way of re- 
turning to God. The truth of it 
is not a subject for logic; it can 
only be tested by consciousness 
and experience. To test the truth 
of a Christian's experience try the 
life of a Christian. Go on your 
knees before God. Bring all your 
idols; bring self-will, and pride, 
a!id every evil lust before him and 
give them up. Devote yourself, 
heart and soul, to his will, and see 
if you do not " know of the doc- 
trine." This is the only w^ay to 
examine and study into Bible 
truths, and none that ever tried 
this way till their hearts grew 



warm with love to Ciirist ever 
had much trouble about doubting 
the truths of revelation. — IIeney 
Ward BEEcnEn. 

Bad men or devils would not 
have written the Bible, for it con- 
demns them and their works; good 
men or angels could not have writ- 
ten it, for in saying it was from 
God wdien it was but their own 
invention, they would have been 
guilty of falsehood, and thus could 
not have been good. The only 
remaining being who could have 
written it is God, its real author, 

"We read the TTord of God, we 
study it, we hear it, we know 
more of it perhaps than our neigh- 
bors do ; but to accept it, to be- 
lieve it, to yield ourselves up to it, 
to live according to it, to feed upon 
it, to know, and act as knowing, 
that "man doth not live by bread 
alone, but by every word that 
proceedeth out of the mouth of 
God;" this, and only this, will 
make all that nearness, and all 
that knowledge, the blessing that 
it should be, that it may be, that 
it must be, unless it is to be turned 
into a curse instead of a blessing, 
and bring us into a miserable 
likeness with the lost apostle. — 
Dk. Mobeely. 

If, as some tell us, Ave are only 
to believe the Bible so far as it is 
consonant with reason, we are 
likely to be terribly misguided : 
because reason, among our dark 



EIBLE — BIGOTRY. 



and ignorant race, is so much 
under the influence of prejudice 
and passion. If twenty men of 
different persuasions be called 
together, however flatly they may 
contradict each other, they would 
all tell you they are guided by 
reason. — Rowla:n"d Hill. 

The Bible, like the world, has 
its paradoxes and contradictions, 
which, after all, are but parts of 
the same truth; just such contra- 
dictions as centrifugal and centrip- 
etal forces in philosophy; both 
needful to the completeness of 
truth, and to roll the planets in 
their orbits ; or like midnight and 
noonday, each the opposite of the 
other, and yet each in its place a 
reality and a blessing, and essen- 
tial to the continuance and prog- 
ress of summer and winter, seed- 
time and harvest. — ^T. Edwaeds. 

The precious Word of God is 
adapted to do good to the sinner 
because it Is a sharp two-edged 
sword, that can give a killing 
blow to the love of sin, or like a 
hammer, break the stony heart in 
pieces. It is also peculiarly suited 
to the different degrees of saints 
and their respective wants. If 
Aveak, it will nourish infant piety ; 
if more strong, it will settle and 
establish ; and if well established, 
it will inspire with joy and tri- 
umph. In short, in this store- 
liouse there is a medicine for 
every malady, a balm for every 
wound, and a supply for every 



want. The ])ages of Scripture 
also, like the best productions of 
natm-e, will not only endure the 
test, but improve upon the trial; 
the application of the microscope 
to the one, and meditation, faith, 
and prayer to the other, are sure 
(by the power of the Holy Spirit) 
to display new beauties, and pre- 
sent us with higher attractives. — 
Heevey. 

The way to have miracles 
wrought in us is to yield obedi- 
ence to the divine Word. — Hall. 

Let us not lose the Bible, but 
with diligence, in fear and invo- 
cation of God, read and preach it. 
While that remains and flourishes 
all prospers with the state; 'tis 
head and empress of all arts and 
faculties. Let but divinity fall 
and I would not give a strav*^ for 
the rest. — Luthee. 



PEETEiTACiTT of Opinion more fre- 
quently arises from a partial view 
of a subject than from a full com- 
prehension of it, and certainly is 
not of itself any proof of rectitude 
of judgment. — Bishop of Llan- 

DAEF. 

The principles of bigotry and 
intolerance are as destructive to 
morality as they are contrary to 
common sense. Is it possible to 
suppose that by blinding the un- 



30 



BICiOTIiY— BLASPHEMY- BLESSINGS — BODY. 



derstanding, and by forcing the 
judgment, Ave can mend tlic lieart? 
— R. Hill. 

BiGOTEY murders religion to 
frigliten fools with her ghost. — 

COLTOX. 



inmm 

Blasphemy is speaking evil of 
God ; that is, 1. Either attribut- 
ing God's perfections to ourselves 
or others; or, 2. Ascribing any 
of our imperfections to God. — 
Baekee. 



^§hmixt^^. 



If all the blessings of our condi- 
tion are enjoyed with a constant 
sense of the uncertainty of life, 
if we remember that whatever we 
possess is to be in our hands but a 
very little time, and that the little 
which our most lively hopes can 
promise ns may be made less by 
ten thousand accidents, we shall 
not much repine at a loss of which 
we cannot estimate the value, but 
of which, though we are not able 
to tell the least amount, we know, 
with sufficient certainty, the great- 
est, and are convinced that the 
greatest is not much to be regret- 
ted. — JOHNSOX. 

Nothing raises the price of a 
blessing like its removal ; whereas 
it Avas its continuance that should 
have taudit us its value. 



OuE real blessings often appeal 
to us in the shape of pains, losses, 
and disappointments; but let us 
have patience and we soon shall 
see them in their proper figures. — 
Addison. 

It often seems more difficult to 
preserve a blessing than to obtain 
it. — Demosthenes. 



?0irg. 



Some members of the body are 
radical, as the heart, liver, and 
brain ; these we cannot live with- 
out : and others are official, as tlie 
hands, feet, etc. The superior 
members rule the inferior, the 
inferior support the superior. — 
Flayel. 

The body is the soul's house, 
its beloved habitation; where it 
was born and hath lived ever 
since it had a being, and in Avhich 
it enjoyed all its comforts. Upon 
this account the apostle calls it 
the soul's home. (We are at home 
in the body. 2 Cor. v.) We may 
say of many gracious souls, they 
pay a dear rent for the house they 
dwell in. — Flayel. 

Theee is a vileness in the bodies 
even of the saints which Avill 
never be removed till it be melted 
doAvn in the grave, and cast into a 
new mould at the resurrection, to 
come forth a spiritual body. — 
Baetox. 



BODY— BOOKS. 



It is related that Galen was 
converted from xVtlieism by seeing 
a human skeleton ; and afterward 
he said he would give any one a 
hundred years' time to see if he 
could find out a more commodious 
situation for any one member of 
the body. 

It is shameful for man to rest in 
ignorance of the structure of his 
own body, especially when the 
knowledge of it mainly conduces to 
his welfare, and directs his applica- 
tion of his own powers. — Melanc- 

THOX. 



§00ks» 



Always have a book at hand, in 
the parlor, on the table, for the 
family; a book of condensed 
thought and striking anecdote, of 
sound maxims and truthful apo- 
thegms. It will impress on your 
own mind a thousand valuable 
suggestions, and teach your chil- 
dren a thousand lessons of truth 
and duty. Such a book is a 
casket of jewels for your house- 
hold. — T. Edwaeds. 

Thou mayest as well expect to 
grow stronger by always eating, 
as wiser by always reading. For 
much overcharges nature, and 
turns more into disease than nour- 
isliment. 'Tis thought and di- 
gestion which makes books serv- 
iceable, and gives health and vigor 
to the mincL — Fuller. 



No man should think so highly 
of himself as to imagine he could 
receive no light from books, nor 
so meanly as to beheve he can 
discover nothing but what is to be 
learned from them. — Johxsox. 

A WICKED book is the worse 
that it cannot repent. 

At the head of all pleasures 
which offer themselves to the man 
of education may confidently be 
placed that derived from books, 
which perhaps no other can stand 
in competition with. Imagine 
that we had it in our power to 
call up the shades of the greatest 
and wisest men that ever existed, 
to converse with us on the most 
interesting topics, what a privilege 
should we think it, how superior 
to all common enjoyments! but in 
a well-chosen library we in fact 
possess this. We can question 
Xenophon and Cesar on their 
campaigns, make Demosthenes and 
Cicero plead before us, join in the 
audiences of Socrates and Plato, 
and receive demonstrations from 
Euclid and Newton. In books 
we have the choicest thoughts of 
the ablest men in their best dress ; 
we can at pleasure exclude dullness, 
and open our doors to good sense 
alone. "Without books a sensible 
person can scarcely pass one day 
to his satisfaction, but with them 
no day has been so dark as not to 
have some pleasures. Even pain 
and sickness have been rendered 
bearable by the pleasures of read- 



liOOKS. 



ing, and long and solitary travel- 
ing in some degree comfortable 
by the pleasing company of a 
favorite antlior. — Aikex. 

The composition of a book has 
been compared to the furnishing 
of a feast, in which, whatever art 
may have been exerted, and vari- 
ety produced, it seldom happens 
that every person is pleased. 
Sometimes it is said that some of 
the provisions are not good, and 
others will say that the dishes are 
not dressed and seasoned as they 
ought to be ; but sometimes it may 
happen that the stomach or appe- 
tite of the guests are out of order. 
No work ever yet appeared which 
was not blamed as well as praised 
by many ; but we hesitate not to 
pronounce that work good which 
maintains for a considerable time 
a majority of suffrages in its favor. 
Longinus very properly makes the 
favorable opinion of various na- 
tions for many ages an infallible 
criterion of an author's singular 
excellence ; and it is certain that to 
call in question the merits of those 
books which have long survived 
their authors, contributes more to 
disgrace the critic than to dimin- 
ish the reputation of the author. — 
Dii. Knox. 

Many books. require no thought 
from those who read them, and 
for a very simple reason ; they 
made no such demand upon those 
who wrote them. Those works, 
therefore, are the most valuable that 



set our thinking faculties in the 
fullest operation. For as the solar 
light calls forth all the latent 
powers and dormant principles of 
vegetation contained in the kernel, 
but which, Avithout such, a stimu- 
lus, would neither have struck 
root downward, nor borne fruit 
upward, so it is with the light tliat 
is intellectual, it calls forth and 
awakens into energy those latent 
principles of thought in the minds 
of others, which without this stim- 
ulus reflection would not have 
matured, nor examination im- 
proved, nor. action embodied. — 

COLTON. 

I DENT not but that it is of 
greatest concernment in the Church 
and commonwealth to have a vig- 
ilant eye how books demean them- 
selves as well as men, and there- 
after to confine, imprison, and do 
sharpest justice on them as male- 
factors; for books are not abso- 
lutely dead things, but do contain 
a progeny of life in them to be as 
active as that soul was w-hose 
progeny they are ; nay, they do 
preserve as in a vial the i)urest 
efficacy and extraction of that liv- 
ing intellect that bred them. I 
know they are as lively, and as 
vigorously productive, as those 
fabulous dragons' teeth ; and being 
sown up and down, may chance to 
spring up armed men. And yet, 
on the other hand, unless wariness 
be used, as good almost kill a man 
as kill a good book. Who kills a 
man kills a reasonable creature. 



C ALUMX Y — C AXDOE. 



God's image; but he who destroys 
a good book kills reason itself, 
kills the image of God, as it were, 
in the eye. Many a man lives a 
burden to the earth ; but a good 
book is the precious life-blood of a 
master spirit, embalmed and treas- 
ured np on purpose to a life be- 
yond life. — ^MiLTOx. 



A CALUMXious mouth is a iire 
in the wood. — Asiatic Peoveeb. 

Base calumny, by working nnder 

ground, 
Can secretly the greatest merit 

wound. Swift. 

As THEEE are to be found in the 
service of envy men of every di- 
versity of temper and degree of 
understanding, calumny is diifused 
by all arts and methods of propa- 
gation. Nothing is too gross or 
too refined, too cruel or too tri- 
fling, to be practiced. Yery little 
regard is had to the rules of hon- 
orable hostility, but every weapon 
is accounted lawful; and those 
who cannot make a thrust at life 
are content to keep themselves in 
play with petty malevolence, to 
tease with feeble blows and impo- 
tent disturbance. — Johxsox. 

A BLACKSMITH, having bccu asked 
why he did not sue his grievous 
calumniator for damages, perti- 



nently replied, "I can hammer 
out a better character than the 
lawyers would give me." 



Theee is a proper mean between 
nndistinguishing crednlity and uni- 
versal jealousy which a sound nn- 
derstanding discerns, and which 
the man of candor studies to pre- 
serve. 

One onnce -of true candor is 
worth a hundred pounds of sense 
without it. — Fostek, 

He who freely praises what he 
means to purchase, and he who 
enumerates the faults of what he 
means to sell, may set np a part- 
nership with honesty. — Lavatee. 

A man who is tiTily candid may 
not be very learned; but either 
he must have seen much of the 
world, or else be blessed with a 
benevolent temper. Sucli a man 
makes all proper allowances for 
the mixture of evil with good, 
which mnst be found in all hn- 
man characters. He does not lend 
an open ear to defamatory reports, 
but he is slow to judge, and re- 
quires the clearest evidence before 
he will condemn. Where there is 
just ground for doubt, he keeps 
his judgment undecided ; and dur- 
ing the time of suspense, he leans 
to the most charitable constrac- 
; tion which actions can bear ; and 



■iO 



CEXSOlilUUSXE^: 



when he must condemn, he does 
it with real regret, and never with 
haughtiness. How much soever lie 
may dislike the sentiments of any 
person or party, he allows for the 
effects of different education and 
connections, and never confounds 
under one general censure all who 
belong to that family or sect. From 
a few wrong opinions he does not 
infer the subversion of all sound 
principles, nor from some bad ac- 
tions does he conclude that any 
person is become wicked and 
abandoned. He commiserates hu- 
man frailty, and judges of oth- 
ers according to the principle by 
which he thinks it reasonable that 
they should judge of him. In 
short, knowing his own infirmi- 
ties, and having a compassionate 
and tender disposition, he views 
men and their actions in the clear 
sunshine of charity and benevo- 
lence, and not in the dark shade 
which party spirit or jealousy 
throws over all characters. — Dr. 
Blair. 



CirAPJTY, like the sun, brightens 
every object on which it shines.j 
A censorious disposition casts ev- 
ery character into the darkest 
shade it will bear. 

Let us be greatly upon our 
guard, that we do not condemn 



our brethren because their creed 
or confessions of faith do not come 
up to our own. Yea, if we sus- 
pect that their sentiments may 
prove fatal to them, even that 
consideration should engage us to 
gentleness rather than severity, as 
that is the most likely method to 
bring them to the knowledge of 
the truth. In a particular man- 
ner, parents, and those who have 
the care of youth, should encour- 
age them in a candid and benevo- 
lent temper. Too many have from 
their tenderest years been taught 
to place a part of their religion in 
the severity with which they cen- 
sure their brethren who differ 
from them, and a peccant humor 
so early wrought in their consti- 
tution will not easily be subdued. 
That very consideration, however, 
should induce us to educate youth 
in open and generous sentiments, 
that so they may be taught to rev- 
erence true Christianity whereso- 
ever they see it, and to judge of it 
by essentials rather than circum- 
stantials. Let this be our care, 
and it is more than probable that 
our children, or those under our 
tuition, may imbibe such a candid 
disposition as will be much to their 
honor and comfort. — J)&. Dodd- 

EIDGE, 

Censorious persons take magni- 
fying glasses to look at others' 
imperfections, and diminishing 
glasses to look at their own. — 
Seckek. 



CEXSURE — CII AR ACTER. 



41 



Cexsuee is willingly indulged, 
because it always implies some 
superiority. Men please them- 
selves with imagining that they 
have made a deeper search or 
wider survey than others, and de- 
tected faults and follies which es- 
cape vulgar observation. — Johx- 
sox. 

The best way to stop censure is 
to correct self. — Demosthenes. 

Do xoT that yourself which you 
are wont to censure in others. It 
is bad when the censure of the 
teacher recoils upon himself. — 
Cato. 

He descants most on the failings 
of others who is least sensible of 
his own. 

The readiest and surest way to 
get rid of censure is to correct 
ourselves. — Demosthenes. 

Oensuee no man, detract from 
no man : praise no man before his 
face, traduce no man behind his 
back. Boast not thyself abroad, 
n or flatter thyself at home. If any- 
thing cross thee, accuse thyself; 
if any one extol thee, humble thy- 
self. Honor those that instruct 
thee, and be thankful to those that 
reprehend thee. Let all thy de- 
sires be subjected to reason, and 
let thy reason be corrected by re- 
ligion. Weigh thyself by thy own 
balances, and trust not the voice 
of wild opinion : observe thyself as 



thy greatest enemy, so shalt thou 
become thy greatest friend. — En- 

CHIEIDIOX. 



A GOOD character is, in all cases, 
the fruit of personal exertion. It 
is not inherited from parents; it 
is not created by external advant- 
ages ; it is no necessary appendage 
of birth, wealth, talents, or station ; 
but it is the result of one's own en- 
deavors, the fruit and revfard of 
good principles, manifested in a 
course of virtuous and honorable 
action. — Hawes. 

Chaeacter is a perfectly edu- 
cated will. — ISTOVALIS. 

Chaeactee is like stock in trade ; 
the more of it a man possesses, the 
greater his facilities for adding to 
it. Character is power, is influ- 
ence: it makes friends, creates 
funds, draws patronage and sup- 
port, and opens a sure and easy 
way to wealth, honor, and happi- 
ness. — Hawes, 

Mex are to be estimated, as 
Johnson says, by the mass of char- 
acter. A block of tin may have 
a grain of silver, but still it is tin ; 
and a block of silver may have an 
alloy of tin, but still it is silver. 

The mass of Elijah's chai-acter 
was excellence; yet he was not 
Avithout the alloy. The mass of 
Jehu's character was base ; yet he 
had a portion of zeal which was 
directed by God to great ends. 



CHARACTER — CKAiaTV. 



IJad men tire made the same use 
of as scaffolds ; they are employed 
as means to erect a building, and 
then are taken down and destroyed. 
We must make great allowance for 
constitution. I could name a man 
who, though a good man, is more 
unguarded in his tongue than 
many immoral persons. Shall I 
condemn him? he breaks down 
here, and alfliost here only. On 
the other hand, many are so mild 
and gentle as to make one won- 
der how such a character could 
be formed without true grace en- 
tering mto its composition. — 
Cecil. 

The character is like white pa- 
per ; if once blotted, it can hardly 
ever be made to appear as white 
as before. One wrong step often 
stains the character for life. It is 
much easier to form a good char- 
acter at first than it is to do it 
after we have acquired a bad one ; 
to preserve the character pure, 
than to purify it after it has be- 
come defiled. 

CnARACTER is wliat a man truly 
is, and what his reputation soon 
will be. 

Mex who concentrate themselves 
all upon one point may be sharp, 
acute, pungent; they may have 
spear-like force of character; but 
they are never broad and round, 
never of full-proportioned man- 
hood ; which can only be obtained 
by tho carrying forward of the 



whole of a man in an even-breast- 
ed marcli. — H. W. Beecheh. 
(See also Eeputation.) 



Chapjtt would have you sensi- 
ble of your affliction, that you 
may have nothing more to afflict 
you. She would have you know 
your misery, that you may begin 
to be happy. When she reproves 
you she is good-natured, when she 
would please you she is sincere. 
She has a certain tenderness and 
mercy, even amid the severities 
that she sometimes uses. Her 
caresses are without artifice and 
deceit, her anger is always accom- 
panied with patience, her indigna- 
tion with humility. — St. Beexakd. 

It is not good to speak evil of all 
whom we know bad; it is worse 
to judge evil of any who may prove 
good. To speak iU upon knowl- 
edge shows a want of charity ; to 
speak iU upon suspicion shows a 
want of honesty. I will not speak 
so bad as I know of many: I will 
not speak worse than I know of 
any. To know evil by others, and 
not speak it, is sometimes discre- 
tion : to speak evil by others, and 
not know it, is always dishonesty. 
— AVAEWicii:. 

It is heaven upon earth to have 
a man's mind move in charity, 
rest in Providence, and turn upon 
the poles of truth. — Bacon. 



CIIAEITY. 



43 



Ix giving- thy alms, inquire not 
so much iuto the person as his ne- 
cessity. God looks not so much 
upon the merits of him that re- 
quires, as into the manner of him 
that relieves : if the man deserves 
not, thou hast given it in human- 
ity. — QUAELES. 

He that defers his charity till he 
is dead, is (if a man weighs it 
rightly) rather liberal of another 
man's than his own. — Bacox. 

" Chaeitt is gentle, friendly, 
and loving ; she envieth not." 
They that envy their neighbor's 
protit when it goeth well with 
liim, such fellows are out of their 
liveries, and so out of the service 
of God ; for to be envious is to be 
the servant of the devil. — Latimee. 

He hath riches sufficient who 
hath enough to be charitable. — 
SiE T. Beowne. 

The less indulgence one has for 
one's self, the more one may have 
for others. — Chixese Peoveeb. 

Foe modes of faith let graceless 
zealots fight ; 

His can't be wrong whose life is 
in the right. 

In faith and hope the world will 
disagree, 

But all mankind's concern is char- 
ity. Pope. 

Chaeitt is the sum and the end 
of the law, — Hull. 



Chaeity cannot be practiced 
right unless, first, we exercise it 
the moment God gives the occa- 
sion ; and, secondly, retire the in- 
stant after to ofi;er it to God by 
humble thanksgiving. And this 
for three reasons: first, to render 
him what we have received from 
him the second, to avoid the dan- 
gerous temptation which springs 
from the very goodness of these 
works; and the third, to unite 
ourselves to God, in whom the 
soul expands itself in prayer, with 
all the graces we have received 
and the good works we have done, 
to draw from him new strength 
against the bad effects which these 
very works may produce in us if 
we do not make use of the anti- 
dotes which God has ordained 
against these poisons. The true 
means to be filled anew with the 
riches of grace is thus to strip our- 
selves of it ; and without this it is 
extremely difficult not to grow 
faint in the practice of good works. 
— John Wesley. 

Is AXY man fallen into disgrace? 
Charity doth hold down its head, 
is abashed and out of countenance, 
partaking of his shame. Is any 
man disappointed of his hopes or 
endeavors? Charity crieth out, 
alas ! as if it were itself defeated. 
Is any man afflicted with pain or 
sickness? Charity looketh sadly, 
it sigheth and groaneth, it fainteth 
and languisheth with him. Is any 
man pinched with hard want? 
Charity, if it cannot succor, will 



•i-i 



ClIAIllTY — CIIEERFULXESS. 



condole. Doth ill news arrive? 
Charity doth hear it with an un- 
willing ear and a sad lieart, al- 
though not particularly concerned 
in it. The sight of a wreck at sea, 
of a field spread with carcasses, of 
a country desolated, of houses 
burned and cities ruined, and of 
the like calamities incident to man- 
kind, would touch the bowels of 
any man ; but the very report of 
them would affect the heart of 
charity. — Fuller. 

EvEET thing hath two handles : 
the one soft and manageable, the 
other such as will not endure to 
be touched. If, then, your broth- 
er do you an injury, do not take it 
by the hot and hard handle, by 
representing to yourself all the 
aggravating circumstances of the 
fact; but look rather on the soft 
side, and extenuate it as much as 
is possible, by considering the 
nearness of the relation, and the 
long friendship and familiarity be- 
tween you — obligatians to kind- 
ness which a single provocation 
ought not to dissolve. And thus 
you will take the accident by its 
manageable handle. — Epictetus. 

If thou givest to receive the 
like, it is exchange ; if to receive 
more, it is covetousness; if to re- 
ceive thanks, it is vanity ; if to be 
seen, it is vainglory; if to cor- 
rupt, it is bribery ; if for example, 
it is formality; if for compassion, 
it is charity ; if because thou art 
commanded, 'tis obedience. The 



affection, in doing the work, gives 
a name to the work done. — En- 
chiridion. 

He that gives all, though but 
little, gives much; because God 
looks not to the quantity of the 
gift, but to the quality of the giv- 
ers. He that desires to give more 
than he can hath equaled his gift 
to his desire, and hath given more 
than he hath. — Quarles. 

It is an old saying "that char- 
ity begins at home;" but this is 
no reason it should not go abroad. 
A man should live with the world 
as a citizen of the world. He may 
have a preference for the i)articu- 
lar quarter, or square, or even al- 
ley in which he lives, but he should 
have a generous feeling for the 
welfare of the whole. — Cumbee- 

LAXD. 

Give work rather tlian alms to 
the poor. The former drives out 
indolence, the latter industry. 



CiiEEEFULXESS ought to be the 
tiaticum 'citce of their lil\> to the 
old. Age without cheerfulness 
is a Lapland winter without a sun ; 
and this spirit of cheerfulness 
should be encouraged in our youth, 
if we would wish to liave the ben- 
efit of it in our old age. Time 
will make a generous wine more 
mellow, but it will turn that whicli 



CHEERFULNESS — CIIILDEEy. 



45 



is early on the fret to vinegar. — 

COLTOX. 

CiiEERFCTXESs is a medium be- 
tween levity and gloominess. It 
is compatible with seriousness; 
and its purest and most permanent 
source is a humble consideration 
of the many favors and blessings 
which we enjoy from the divine 
hand. 

A TEULT cheerful man may be 
called an enlivejier^ for he carries 
sunshine and smiles wherever he 
goes, to cheer and encourage his 
virtuous companions. — Fitzos- 

BORXE. 

Cheerful looks make every dish 

a feast, 
And 'tis that crowns a welcome. 
Massixger. 

Cheerfulxess in old age is very 
pleasing, but it is widely different 
from the levity of youth. For the 
aged to mingle in the vanities of 
youth would be ridiculous, and 
they would thereby sink their dig- 
nity, and forfeit the respect due to 
them. Some amusement the aged 
require, but they should consider 
well by every intemperate indul- 
gence they accelerate decay ; and 
instead of enlivening, they oppress 
nature, and precipitate their declin- 
ing state. — Dr. Blair. 

A cnEERFiJL temper, joined with 
innocence, w^ill make beauty at- 
tractive, knowledge delightful, and 



wit good-natured. It will ligliteu 
sickness, poverty, and affliction; 
convert ignorance into an amiable 
simplicity, and render deformity 
itself agreeable. — Addisox. 

Cheerfulxess is the best pro- 
moter of health. Repinings and 
murmurings of the heart give im- 
perceptible strokes to those deli- 
cate libers of which the vital parts 
are composed, and wear out the 
machine. Cheerfulness is as friend- 
ly to the mind as to the body. It 
banishes all anxious care and dis- 
content, soothes and composes the 
passions, and keeps the soul in a 
perpetual calm. — Addisox. 

Cheerfulxess is the offspring 
of piety, the handmaid of health, 
and the companion of usefulness 
and accomplishment. 

Cheerfulxess and good-nature 
are the ornaments of virtue. 



(J 

Childrex are very early capa- 
ble of impression. I imprinted on 
my daughter the idea of faith at a 
very early age. She was playing 
one day with a few beads, which 
seemed to delight her wonderfully. 
Her whole soul was absorbed in 
her beads. I said, " My dear, you 
have some pretty beads there." 
"Yes, papa." "And you seem 
to be vastly pleased with them." 
" Yes, papa." " Well, now, throw 



46 



CHILDREN'— CIIPJST. 



them heliiiid the fire." The tears 
started into her eyes. She looked 
earnestly at me, as though she 
ougljt to have a reason for such a 
cruel sacrifice. "Well, my dear, 
do as you please ; but you know I 
never told you to do anything 
which I did not think would be 
good for you." She looked at me 
a few moments longer, and then, 
summoning up all her fortitude, 
her breast heaving with the effort, 
she dashed them into the fire. 
"Well," said I, "there let them 
lie; you shall hear more about 
them another time; but say no 
more about them now." Some 
days after I bought her a box full 
of larger beads, and toys of the 
same kind. When I returned 
honie I opened the treasure and 
set it before her; she burst into 
tears with ecstacy. "Those, my 
child," said I, "are yours, because 
you believed me when I told you 
it would be better for you to throw 
those two or three paltry beads 
behind the fire. Now that has 
brought you this treasure. But 
now, my dear, remember, as long 
as you live, what faith is. I did 
all this to teach you the. meaning 
of faith. Put the same confidence 
in God. Believe everything that 
he says in his Word, whether you 
understand it or not." — Cecil. 



Let all children remember, if 
ever they are weary of laboring 
for their parents, that Christ la- 
bored for his ; if impatient of their 
commands, that Christ cheerfully 



obeyed; if reluctant to i)rovide 
for their parents, that Christ for- 
got himself and provided for his 
mother amid the agonies of the 
crucifixion. The affectionate lan- 
guage of this divine example to 
every child is, " Go thou and do 
likewise." — De. D wight. 

I TiiixK it better to restrain 
children through a sense of shame 
and by liberal treatment than 
through fear. — Teeexce. 

Childhood is like a mirror, 
catching and reflecting images 
from all around it. 

CniLDEEX make a world of care 
and trouble, and pay for it all as 
they pass along. — Thompsox. 



Through Christ believers arc to 
expect everytliing, from the least 
drop of water to the immense 
riches of glory. — IIaltbueton. 

ITeee is encouragement to per- 
severance, that Jesus Christ, our 
head, is already in heaven. If the 
head be above water the body 
cannot drown. — Flavel. 

We read of Jacob's ladder. 
Christ is Jacob's ladder that reach- 
cth np to heaven, and he that 
refuseth to go by this ladder 
thither will never by any other 
means get up so high. There is none 



CHRIST. 



47 



other name given wherebj we 
must be saved. All the rounds of 
this ladder are sound, and fitl}' 
placed; not one of them is set 
further than that by faith thou 
mayest ascend step by step unto, 
even until thou shalt come to the 
highest step thereof, from -whence 
thou mayest step in at the celestial 
gate, where thy soul desireth to 
dwell. — Bi::s'YAX. 

Let the orators adorn them- 
selves with their eloquence, the 
philosophers with their wisdom, 
the rich with their treasures, 
kings with their power and grand- 
eur. Christ is to us a rich posses- 
sion and a glorious kingdom. 'We 
find wisdom in the folly of the 
Gospel, strength in the weakness 
of the flesh, glory in the shame of 
the cross. — St. PArLix. 

As Cheist suffered for all men 
in general, he suffered for every 
man in particular; he gave him- 
self wholly to all, and wholly to 
every one; and by that, as we 
owe to our Saviour all that he 
did in his passion, every one owes 
the same to him ; unless, perhaps, 
every one owes more to him than 
all together do, because that every 
man in particular has received as 
much as all men together have. — 
Salviax. 

Jesus Cheist is the chief good, 
the knowledge of him the chief 
wisdom, and the enjoyment of him 
the chief happiness. — De Couect. 



Christ is so great that no worth 
can recommend any creature to 
him, if they have any ; but as they 
have not, he magnities his grace 
by exalting his enemies. — De. 

GOODWIX. 

"What wings are to a bird, oil 
to wheels, or a loadstone to the 
needle, such is Christ to the soul 
of a believer. He gives speed to his 
devotion, activity to his obedience, 
and draws him nearer and nearer 
to God. 

If I win Christ I am rich ; if I 
am found in Christ I am safe ; if I 
know Christ I am wise to salva- 
tion. — Teail. 

Cheist made himself like to us, 
that he might make us like him- 
self. — Masox. 

They that deny themselves for 
Christ shall enjoy themselves in 
Christ. — ]\Iasox. 

Cheist is not truly prized at all 
unless he is prized above all. 

Too MAXT see Christ in a book 
as we see places in a map ; but to 
conie nigh, to enjoy him, this is 
delightful and saving. — Ruthee- 

FOED. 

We may know what Christ has 
done for us by what he has done 
in us. — Masox. 



48 



ClIIilSTIAX, BECOMING OXE. 



Cljristiitn, |OccammQ[ ont 

TiiEKE are seasons peculiarly 
fitted for becoming a Christian. 
There are no feelings or senthnents 
of which the soul is capable but 
what have their tides. They ebb 
and flow like the sea. This seems 
to be one of the laws of our 
nature. There are times when 
the popular tide sets toward relig- 
ion; when all outward circum- 
stances, as well as all inward yearn- 
ings, conspire to invite and even 
press the sinner toward God. — 
II. "W. Beechee. 

The Christian is compared to a 
tree; and we know that those 
trees flourish most and bear the 
sweetest fruit which stand most in 
the sun. The lively Christian, who 
prays very much, stands nigh unto 
God, and hath God nigh unto 
him ; you may therefore expect his 
fruit to be sweet and ripe; while 
others that stand as it were in the 
shade, at a distance from God, by 
neglecting prayer, will have little 
fruit found on their branches, and 
that but green and sour. Who 
can express the powerful oratory 
of a believer's prayer ? This little 
word, Father, lisped by faith in 
prayer, by a real Christian, ex- 
ceeds the eloquence of Demosthe- 
nes, Cicero, and all the famous 
speakers in the world. Prayer, 
like Jonathan's bow, returns not 
empty ; never was faithful prayer 
lost. No merchant trades with 
such certainty as the praying 



saint. Some prayers, indeed, have 
a longer voyage than others, but 
tlien they return with the richer 
lading at last, so that the praying 
soul is the gainer by waiting for 
an answer. — Guenall. 

I HAVE known what the enjoy- 
ments and advantages of this life 
are, and what the more refined 
pleasures which learning and in- 
tellectual power can bestow ; and 
with all the experience that more 
than threescore years can give, I, 
now on the eve of my departure, 
declare to you (and earnestly pray 
that you may hereafter live and 
act in the conviction) that health 
is a great blessing ; competence, 
obtained by honorable industry, a 
great blessing ; and a great bless- 
ing it is to have kind, faithful, and 
loving friends and relatives; but 
that the greatest of aU blessings, 
as it is the most ennobling of all 
privileges, is to be indeed a Chris- 
tian. COLEEIDGE. 

A EEAL Christian is a grand 
character, and may unite in him- 
self whatever is great in the mind 
of a philosopher or in the heart 
of a hero. Tlie philosopher sup- 
poses that he has arrived at true 
greatness, but the Christian alone 
possesses it. Perhaps the Chris- 
tian may not be profound in 
human wisdom, but he is in di- 
vine knowledge, which is far supe- 
rior. Perhaps he has never gained 
a victory by slaughtering a great 
number of his fellow-creatures ; 



CIIPJSTIAX, BECOMING OXE— CIIRISTIAXITY. 



but grace has enabled liim to do 
what is far more glorious, to con- 
quer his own sins.^^-SATJEiN. 

A Cheistiax is God Almighty's 
gentleman: a gentleman in the 
vulgar, superficial way of under- 
standing the word, is the devil's 
Christian. But to throAV aside 
these polished and too current 
counterfeits for something valu- 
able and sterling, the real gentle- 
man should be gentle in every- 
thing, at least, in everything that 
depends on himself: in carriage, 
temper, constructions, aims, de- 
sires. He ought therefore to be 
mild, calm, quiet, even, temperate ; 
not hasty in judgment, not exor- 
bitant in ambition, not overbear- 
ing, not proud, not rapacious, not 
oppressive; for these things are 
contrary to gentleness. Many 
such gentlemen are to be found, I 
trust ; and many more would be 
were the true meaning of the 
name borne in mind and duly 
inculcated. — Haee. 

Above all persons, real Chris- 
tians should be most diligent ; for 
not only do they know their duty 
better than others, and therefore 
more will be required of them, 
but from gratitude to God, and in 
order to do good to others, they 
should be more active than the 
people of the world. If they prop- 
erly consider the value of time, 
the worth of souls, the necessity 
of the spread of the Gospel, and 
above all, the glory of God, they 



cannot be idle or indilierent, but 
use their graces, their talents, 
and their property to promote 
such important ends. — Scott. 

Theee are men who will not 
seek for religion when no one else 
is seeking because they don't want 
to be thought singular — shame 
working through the organ of 
approbativeness; and then, Avhen 
a revival comes, they wont seek 
it because they don't want to get 
excited, and go with a crowd — 
shame working through self-es- 
teem; and thus, between those 
two guards, Vv'ardiug them off 
from the door of salvation, the 
poor fools perish. — Hexey Waed 
Beechee. 

Becoming- a Christian is not 
becoming better than one's neigh- 
bor; it is becoming better than 
one's self. It has no reference 
whatever to other people. No 
one need to feel, when his neigh- 
bor becomes a Christian, "That 
man has set up to be better than 
we are now; we will therefore 
watch him, and see how his saint- 
ship gets along." — H. W. Beechee. 



€^xmimmim 

Cheistianitt is hard, but grate- 
ful and happy. I contemn the diffi- 
culty when I respect the advant- 
age. The greatest labors that 
have answerable requitals are less 
than the least that have no regard. 



CnRISTIAXITy. 



Believe me, when I look to the 
reward I would not have the 
Avork easier. It is a good Master 
whom we serve, who not only 
pays but gives ; not after the pro- 
portion of our earnings, but of his 
own mercy. — Bisnop Hall. 

What is clear in Christianity 
we shall find to be sufficient, and 
to be infinitely valuable ; what is 
dubious^ unnecessary to be decided, 
or of very subordinate importance, 
and what is most odscure, should 
teach us to bear with the difterent 
opinions which others may have 
formed upon the same subject. — 
Palet. 

The general notion appears to 
be, that if born in a country of 
whicli Christianity is the estab- 
lished religion, we are born Chris- 
tians. But this is a great mistake. 
To be a real Christian denotes a 
spiritual condition, the possession 
of a peculiar nature with the qual- 
ities and properties that belong to 
it. It is a state into whicli we 
are not dorn, but into which we 
must be translated ; a nature 
which we do not inherit, but into 
which we are to be created anew 
by the Holy Spirit, through the 
undeserved grace of God, by the 
use of the appointed means. It is 
the comprehensive compendium 
of the character of true Cliristians, 
that they are walking by faith and 
not by sight; that is to say, not 
merely that they so firmly believe in 
ftitui-o rewards and punislimontsns 



to be influenced to adhere in the 
main to the path of duty, though 
tempted to forsake it by interest and 
present gratification; but further, 
that the great truths revealed in the 
Scripture, concerning the unseen 
world, are for the most part the 
ideas uppermost in their thoughts, 
and about which their hearts are 
habitually interested. As to the 
temper of a real Christian, it is 
compounded of firmness, compla- 
cency, peace, and love ; it manifests 
itself by acts of kindness and 
courtesy ; in the time of prosperity 
it is not insolent, in adversity it is 
not depending; it is slow in 
revenging an injury, and ever 
ready to forgive enemies. Ee- 
specting the state and condition 
of Christians in this world, as 
they have many enemies, and 
their way beset with many snares, 
it must be various. Sometimes 
they seem to have made consid- 
erable progress in the divine life, 
sometimes to advance but slowly, 
if not to go backward. At one 
time they enjoy the love of God, 
and are cheered with hope; at 
another they have very little sens- 
ible comfort, and are full of 
doubts and fears. Thus they go on 
till, by the work of the Holy Spirit 
and the trials of life, they are pre- 
pared for heaven, and then they 
arc taken to God and enjoy eternal 

glory. WlLBEKFOliCE. 

CnKiSTiANiTY commands us to 
pass by injuries; policy, to lot 
them pass by us. — Fk'anki.ix. 



CIIPJSTIAXITY. 



51 



Other religions, as those of the 
pagans, are more popnhir, for 
they are external ; but they are 
not for people of capacity. A 
religion purely intellectual would 
be better adapted to the capable, 
but it would be of no use to the 
people. The Christian religion is 
adapted to all, being a mixture of 
the external and the internal. It 
elevates the people internally, and 
abases the proud externally ; and 
is not perfect without both, for it 
is necessary that the people should 
understand the spirit of the letter, 
and that the learned should sub- 
mit their spirit to the letter. — 
Pascal. 

The world teacheth me that it 
is madness to leave behind me 
those goods that I may carry with 
me; Christianity teacheth me 
that what I charitably give alive 
I carry with me dead ; and expe- 
rience teacheth me that what I 
leave behind I lose. I will carry 
that treasure with me by giving 
it, which the worldling loseth by 
keeping it. So, while his corpse 
shall carry nothing but a winding 
cloth to his grave, I shall be richer 
under the earth than I was above 
it. — Hall. 

The religion of the Gospel has 
power, immense power, over man- 
kind ; direct and indirect, positive 
and negative, restraining and ag- 
gressive. Civilization, law, order, 
morality, the family ; all that ele- 
vates woman, or blesses society, 
or gives peace to the nations, all 



these are the fruits of Christianity, 
the full power of which, even for 
this world, could never be appre- 
ciated till it should be taken away. 
— T. Edwaeds. 

."What the grace of God can do 
when it rules in the heart is un- 
speakably glorious. What a differ- 
ence there is between the mock 
Christianity of the world and the 
real Christianity of the "Word of 
God :— R. Hill. 

Mex may differ from each other 
in many religious opinions, yet all 
may retain the essentials of Chris- 
tianity. Men may sometimes 
eagerly dispute, and yet not differ 
much from one another. The rig- 
orous persecutors of error should 
therefore enlighten their zeal with 
knowledge, and temper their or- 
thodoxy with charity ; that char- 
ity without which orthodoxy is 
vain; that charity "that thinketh 
no evil," but "hopeth all things, 
and endureth all things." — Johx- 
sox. 

If ever Christianity appears in 
its power, it is when it erects its 
trophies upon the tomb, when it 
takes up its votaries where the 
world leaves them, and fills the 
breast with immortal hope in 
dying moments. — E. Hall. 

There is nothing in deism but 
what is in Christianity, but there is 
much in Christianity which is not 
in deism. The Christian has no 
doubt concerning a future state ; 



CIIPJSTIANS. 



every (k'ist is on tliis suLject over- 
whelmed with doubts insuperable 
by human reason. The Christian 
has no misgivings as to the par- 
don of penitent sinners, through 
the intercession of a mediator ; the 
deist is harassed with apprehen- 
sion lest the moral justice of God 
should demand, with inexorable 
rigor, punishment for transgres- 
sion. The Christian has no doubt 
concerning the lawfulness and effi- 
cacy of prayer; the deist is dis- 
turbed on this point by abstract 
consideration concerning the good- 
ness of God, which wants not to 
be entreated ; concerning his fore- 
sight, which has no need of our 
information; concerning his im- 
mutability, which cannot be 
changed through our supplication. 
The Christian admits the provi- 
dence of God, and the liberty of 
human actions; tlie deist is in- 
volved in great difficulties when 
he undertakes the proof of either. 
The Christian has assurance that 
the Spirit of God will help his 
infirmities ; tlie deist does not 
deny the possibility that God may 
have access to the human mind, 
but he has no ground to believe 
the facts of his either enlightening 
the understanding, influencing the 
will, or purifying the heart. — 
liisiiop Watsox. 



Each true Christian is a right 
traveler; his life his walk, Christ 



his way, and heaven his home. 
Ilis walk painful, his way perfect, 
his home pleasing. I will not 
loiter, lest I come short of home ; 
I will not wander, lest I come 
wide of home; but be content to 
travel hard, and be sure I walk 
right, so shall my safe way find its 
end at home, and my painful walk 
make my home welcome. — Ar- 
thur Warwick. 

Christians are like the several 
flowers in a garden that have 
each of them the dew of heaven, 
which, being shaken with the 
wind, they let fall at each other's 
roots, whereby they are jointly 
nourished, and become nourishers 
of each other. — B untax. 

A Christian is the highest style 
of man. — Young. 

Christians are in the world 
only to triumph over things pres- 
ent, to hope for things to come. — 
St. Austin. 

Perhars it is a greater energy 
of the divine Power which keej)s 
the Christian from day to day, 
from year to year, praying, hop- 
ing, running, believing, against 
all hindei-ances, which maintains 
liim as a living martyr, than that 
which bears him up for an hour in 
sacrificing himself at the stake. — 
Cecil. 

Christian society is like a bun- 
dle of sticks laid togetlier, where- 
of one kindles another. Si)litarv 



CnRISTIAXS. 



men have fewest provocations to 
evil, bnt again fewest incitations 
to good. So much as doing good 
is better than not doing evil, will 
I account Christian good-fellow- 
ship better than melancholic soli- 
tariness. — Hall. 

Xevee let it be supposed that 
Christians can serve God without 
his grace. The life of devotion is 
still the gift of God, and it must 
be insisted upon that there is not 
in man one good thought, one 
holy desire, but from the contin- 
ual inspiration of the divine Spirit 
in all things directing and rulmg 
our hearts. Without this doctrine 
we may be scholars, and critics, 
and men of taste, and likewise 
moralists of civil society; but we 
are no longer to be considered as 
Christian divines, neither will our 
labors be attended with any sav- 
ing effect. — Bishop Hoene. 

LTpEiGHT Christians pray with- 
out ceasing. Though they pray not 
always with their mouths, yet 
their hearts pray continually, 
sleeping or waking; for the sigh 
of a true Christian is a prayer. 
As the Psalmist saith: "Because 
of the deep sighing of the poor I 
will up, saith the Lord," etc. In 
like manner a true Christian al- 
ways carries the cross, though he 
feel it not always. — Luthee. 

How soo]sr Christians get ac- 
quainted with each other ! How 
sweet those silken cords of love 



which the dear Eedeemer twines 
round the hearts of his children, 
constraining them, by being one 
in him, to be one in each other ! 
O when shall this love more and 
more abound, that we may exem- 
plify a stronger argument in de- 
fense of Christianity than a thou- 
sand volumes from the pen of infi- 
delity shall be able to confute ! 
Well, blessed be God, we can pro- 
duce a degree of proof that Chris- 
tians love. — E. Hill. 

He is a good man who grieves 
rather for him that injures him 
than for his own suffering; who 
sooner shows mercy than anger ; 
who offers violence to his appe- 
tite, in all things endeavoring to 
subdue the flesh to the Spirit. 
This is an excellent abbreviative 
of the whole duty of a Christian. 
— Tatloe. 

As THE Christians were cited 
before tribunals, and treated as 
criminals, Tertullian marks the 
difference that was seen between 
them and other criminals. After 
having said that nature hath fixed 
either fear or shame to all evil ; 
that the wicked love to hide them- 
selves, and tremble when they are 
surprised; that they deny all when 
they are accused, that they are 
unwilling to confess anything, 
even amid tortures, and that at 
last, when they are condemned, 
they deplore their unhappy fate, 
he thus expresses himself : " Do the 
Christians behave themselves thus? 



CIirJSTIAXS— CIIIT.CIL 



Not one is ashamed to be discov- 
ered what he is ; not one repents, 
unless for not being more a Chris- 
tian. If they are brought to trial 
they greatly glory in it ; if they 
are accused they make no defense. 
They freely confess the truth 
when they are examined: when 
they are condemned they thank 
their judges. AYhat sort of crime 
is this? Those that are guilty of 
it rejoice even in torments; they 
wish to be accused, and their con- 
sequent punishment is real happi- 
ness." 

Othees take the name of phi- 
losophers, but Christians take the 
life and manners.^Sx. Euchee. 

TiiEiiE are seasons Avhen a 
Christian's distinguishing charac- 
ter is hidden from man. A 
Christian merchant on 'change is 
not called to show any diiference 
in his mere exterior carriage 
from another merchant. He gives 
a reasonable answer if he is asked 
a question. He does not fanat- 
ically intrude religion into every 
sentence he utters. He does not 
suppose his religion to be incon- 
sistent with the common inter- 
change of civilities. He is affiible 
and courteous. He can ask the 
news of the day, and take up any 
l)ublic topic of conversation. But 
is he, therefore, not different from 
other men? He is like another 
merchant in the mere exterior cir- 
cumstance, which is least in God's 
regard ; but in his taste, his views, 
his science, his hopes, his happi- 



ness, he is as different from those 
around him as light is from dark- 
ness. He waits for the coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, who never 
passes perhaps througli the minds 
of those lie talks with but to be 
neglected and despised. — Cecil. 



A CnuEcn is a company of per- 
sons professedly separating them- 
selves from the sinful ways of the 
world, in obedience to the call of 
the Gospel, believing in Christ as 
their Saviour, subjecting them- 
selves to him as their spiritual 
Lord and ruler, voluntarily agree- 
ing together to partake of the 
privileges, discharge the duties, 
and support the means of Chris- 
tian faith, worship, and holiness; 
making the holy Scriptures the 
sovereign and infallible rule of 
their religious opinions and prac- 
tice; uniting in the same general 
forms of government, and usually 
meeting together at one and tlie 
same time and place for public 
religious exercises. This may be 
called a particular visible Christian 
Church, of which there is frequent 
mention in the New Testament. — 

TUENEK. 

TVe sec in a jeweler's shop 
that, as there arc pearls and 
diamonds and other precious 
stones, there are files, cutting in- 



CIVILITY — COMFORTS — CO:^IAXDMEXTS. 



struments, and many sharp tools 
for their polishing; and -while 
they are in the work-house they 
are continual neighbors to them, 
and come often under them. The 
Church is God's jewel, his work- 
house, -where his jewels are pol- 
ishing for his palace and house; 
and those he especially esteems 
and means to make most resplend- 
ent he hath oftenest his tools upon. 
— Leightox. 



Cxbilitg 

If a civil word or two will 
render a man happy, said a 
French king, he must be a wretch 
indeed who wiU not give them to 
him. Such a disposition is like 
lighting another man's candle by 
one's own, w^hich loses none of 
its brilliancy by what the other 



CiYiLiTT, or good manners, 
though one of the minor duties, 
is of no small importance in our 
passage through life. When we 
are in the company of virtuous 
persons, it is peculiarly proper to 
treat them with respect; and this 
duty on such occasions is admitted 
to be of indispensable obligation. 
But even when our necessary con- 
cerns lead us among persons 
whose characters are exception- 
able, they are entitled to civil be- 
havior, and our influence with 
them is promoted by showing it. 
If we should think it necessary to 
manifest our disapprobation of 



their principles of conduct, it 
should be done consistently with 
good manners, as weU as in a 
Christian spirit. Indeed, if our 
minds were imbued with meek- 
ness and humility, we should 
rarely, if ever, violate the rules of 
civility. 



All earthly comforts thus ; 

So little hold of them have we. 
That we from them, or they from us, 

May in a moment ravished be. 
Yet we are neither just nor wise 
If present mercies we despise ; 
Or mind not how there may be 

made 
A thankful use of what v/e had. 
Geoege Withee. 

God's comforts are no dreams, 
lie has given a great number of 
precious promises to comfort his 
people by his Holy Spirit, and he 
would not put his seal to blank 
paper, nor deceive his afflicted 
people that trust in him. Of all 
created comforts God is the lend- 
er; we are the borrowers, and 
not the owners.— EuTiiEEFOED. 



I HAVE many times essayed 
thoroughly to investigate the ten 
commandments, but at the very 
outset, "I am the Lord thy God," 
I stuck fast; that very one word, 
I, put me to a nonjyJus. Tie tliat 



COMPLAIXTS — COMPLAISAXCE — COXCEIT. 



has but one word of God before 
him, and out of that word cannot 
make a sermon, can never be a 
preacher. I am well content that 
I know, however little, of what 
God's M-ord is, and take good 
heed not to miirnmr at my small 
knowledge. — LrxnEU. 

God has his measuring lines 
and his canons, called the ten 
commandments. They are written 
in our flesh and blood. The sum 
of them is, "- What thou wouldest 
have done to thyself, the same do 
thou to another." God presses 
upon this point, saying, "Such 
measure as thou metest, the same 
shall be measured to thee again." 
With this measuring line has God 
marked the whole world. They 
that live and do thereafter, well 
is it with them, for God richly 
rewards them in this life. — 

LUTHEE. 



To HEAR complaints wdtli pa- 
tience, even when complaints are 
vain, is one of the duties of friend- 
ship: and though it must be 
allowed that he suffers most like 
a hero who hides his grief in 
silence, yet it cannot be denied 
that he who complains acts like a 
man, like a social being, who 
looks for help from his fellow- 
creatures. — Jonxsox. 

The time spent in com])laining 
would often suffice to remedy tlie 
evils complained of. ) 



Complaisance. 

Complaisance jjleases all, prej- 
udices none ; adorns wit ; ren- 
ders humor agreeable; augments 
friendship; redoubles love; and 
united with justice and gener- 
osity, becomes the secret chain of 
the society of mankind. — M. de 
Scudeey. 

Complaisance, though in itself 
it be scarce reckoned in the num- 
ber of moral virtues, is that which 
gives a luster to every talent a 
man can be possessed of. It was 
Plato's advice to an unpolished 
writer that he should sacrifice to 
the Graces. In the same manner 
I w^ould advise every man of 
learning who would not appear in 
the w^orld a mere scholar or phi- 
losopher, to make himself master 
of the social virtue which I have 
here mentioned. Complaisance 
renders a superior amiable, an 
equal agreeable, and an inferior 
acceptable. It smooths distinction, 
sweetens conversation, and makes 
every one in the company pleased 
with himself. It produces good- 
nature and mutual benevolence, 
encourages the timorous, soothes 
the turbulent, humanizes the 
fierce, and distinguishes a society 
of civilized persons from a con- 
fusion of savages. — Addison. 



Conceit. 

There is no real use of riches 
execjjt in the distribution; the 
rest is all conceit. 



COXCETT — COXFIDEN'OE — COXSCIEXCE. 



CoxcEiT and confidence are 
both of them cheats. The first 
always imposes on itself, the 
second frequently deceives others 

too. ZlilMEKMAXX. 

Conceit not so high a notion of 
any as to be bashful and impo- 
tent in their presence. — Fuller. 

iSTATTTEE loves tmtli so Trell that 
it hardly ever admits of flourish- 
ing. Conceit is to nature what 
paint is to beauty ; it is not only 
needless, but impairs what it 
would improve. — Pope. ., 



€QvMmtL 

Judge before friendship, then con- 
fide till death. Youxg. 



We never do evil so thoroughly 
and heartily as when led to it by 
an honest but perverted, because 
mistaken conscience. — T. Ed- 
wards. 

A GOOD conscience is not only 
the testimony of a good life, but 
the reward of it. ■ 

Although the hope of His mer- 
cy is ray sheet-anchor of eternal 
salvation, yet am I persuaded that 
wliosoever wittingly neglecteth 
and regardeth not to clear his 
conscience, he cannot have peace 



with God, nor a lively faith in his 
mercy. — Eidley. 

A GUILTY conscience is like a 
whirlpool, drawing in all to itself 
which would otherwise pass by. — 
Fuller. 

A tender conscience is an ines- 
timable blessing; that is, a con- 
science not only quick to discern 
what is evil, but instantly to shun 
it, as the eyelid closes itself against 
a mote. — T. Adams. 

A GOOD conscience within will 
be always better to a Christian 
than health to his navel, and mar- 
row to his bones; it will be an 
everlasting cordial to his heart; 
it will be softer to him than a bed 
of down. A good conscience is 
the best looking-glass of heaven. — 
Cudworth. 

'No MAN ever offended his own 
conscience but first or last it was 
revenged upon him for it. — South. 

Conscience admonishes as a 
friend before punishing as a judge. 
— Stanislaus. 

There is no coming to Christ 
but with a wounded conscience. — 

E. IIlLL. 

Conscience is a great ledger- 
book, in which all our offenses are 
written and registered, and which 
time reveals to the sense and feel- 
ing of the offenders. — Durton. 



;jS 



CoXSClKXrE. 



LABOii to keep nlivo in your 
breast that little spark of celestial 
fire called conscience. — Wasiiing- 

TOX. 

The power of conscience is great 
in both ways. Those have nothing 
to fear who have committed no 
ci'ime, and those who have sinned 
always have punishment before 
their eyes. — Ciceeo. 

TnEEE is nothing more wretched 
than the mind of a man with a 
guilty conscience. — Plaxt. 

Tktjst him in nothing that makes 
not a conscience of everything. — 
Hall. 

How DAXGEEOUS to defer those 
momentous reformations which 
the conscience is solemnly preach- 
ing to the heart. If they are neg- 
lected, the difficulty and indispo- 
sition are increasing every month. 
The mind is receding, degree after 
degree, from the warm and hope- 
ful zone, till at last it will enter 
the arctic circle, and become fixed 
in relentless and eternal ice. — J. 

FOSTEE. 

A PALSY may as well shake an 
oak, or a fever dry up a fountain, 
as either of them shake, dry up, 
or impair the delight of conscience. 
For it lies within ; it centers in tlie 
heart; it grows into the very sub- 
stance of the soul, so that it ac- 
companies a man to his grave. 
He never outlives it, and that for 



this cause only, because he cannot 
outlive himself. — South. 

Peeseeve your conscience al- 
ways soft and sensitive. If but 
one sin force its way into that 
tender part of the soul and dwell 
easy there, the road is paved for a 
thousand iniquities. — Watts. 

"Whatever is done without os- 
tentation, and without the people 
being witnesses of it, is, in my 
opinion, most praiseworthy. Not 
that the public eye should be en- 
tirely avoided, for good actions 
desire to be placed in the light. 
But notwithstanding this, the 
greatest theater for virtue is con- 
science. — Ciceeo. 

Coxscience implies goodness and 
piety, as much as if yon call it good 
and pious. The luxuriant wit of 
the schoolmen, and the confident 
fancy of ignorant preachers, has so 
disguised it, that all the extrava- 
gancies of a light or a sick brain, 
and the results of a most corrupt 
heart, are called the eftects of con- 
science ; and to make it the better 
understood, the conscience shall 
be called erroneous, or corrupt, or 
tender, as they have a mind to 
support or condemn these eftects. 
So that, in truth, they have made 
conscience a disease fit to be in- 
trusted to tlie care of the physician 
every spring and fiill, and he is 
most like to reform and regulate 
the operation of it. And if the 
madness and folly of men be not 



COXSCIEXCE. 



59 



in a sliort time reformed, it will 
be fitter to be confined as a term 
in physic and in law tlian to be 
nsed or applied to religion or sal- 
vation. Let apothecaries be guided 
by it in their bills, and merchants 
in their bargains, and lawyers in 
managing their causes ; in all 
which cases it may be waited 
upon by the epithets they think 
fit to annex to it. It is in great 
danger to be robbed of the integ- 
rity in which it was created, and 
will not have purity enough to 
carry men to heaven, or choose 
the way thither. — Claeendon. 

It is possible (and it sometimes 
happens) that some have gone out 
of the world as they lived in it, 
defying conscience and deriding 
the flames of hell till they were in 
the midst of them ; but these are 
monsters, and rare instances of 
deep depravity, owing either to 
great infidelity, an obstinate or a 
very stupid disposition. In gen- 
eral we find that conscience influ- 
ences almost all the human race. 
It is true, indeed, that in public 
many wicked persons, by study- 
ing appearances, are so much upon 
their guard, and put on the mask 
so artificially, that they seem inno- 
cent, cheerful, and happy ; but in 
private they must be haunted with 
their own guilt, and more miserable 
than others can conceive. "What 
perhaps hardens or encourages 
some sinners is, that the tortures 
of conscience are not a continual, 
but an intermitting disease, or, like 



the eruptions of burning mount- 
ains, are not always breaking out. 
But they should remember, that 
as the seeds of fire are lodged in 
the caverns of those mountains, so 
guilt being on their consciences, 
every fit of sickness, dejection of 
spirits, or any calamity, or even 
the disappointments of life, may 
make it to break out with more 
distress and anguish; but, above 
all, a death-bed will fill them with 
horror, and conscience will perpet- 
ually torment them in the next 
world. All should listen to the 
admonitions of conscience, but es- 
pecially those who by a superior- 
ity of parts, rank, power, or riches 
are placed in a great measure above 
reproof. The marks of distinction 
they bear, though they may ena- 
ble them to sin with impunity as 
to men, yet will not secure them 
against the lashes of an avenging 
conscience, as well as the just 
judgments of God. — Bishop At- 

TEEBUEY. 

DuEiXG the young, the gay, or 
active periods of life, sinners in 
some measure elude the force of 
conscience. Intent on contriv- 
ances, eager in pursuits, amused 
by hopes, or elated by enjoyments, 
they are sheltered by that crowd 
of trifles that surround them from 
serious thoughts; but conscience 
is too great a power to remain al- 
ways suppressed. Poverty, soli- 
tude, or disease will awake this 
faithful monitor, and then the vi- 
cious will feel its torments ; but a 



GO COXSCIEXCE — COXSOLATIOX— CONTENTMENT. 



clear conscieuce enjoys, in the 
worst times, a peace, a dignity, 
and an elevation of mind peculiar 
to innocence. Conscience cheers 
the lonely house of virtuous pov- 
erty, and attends the innocent suf- 
ferer into prison, exile, and even 
to death itself. — Dii. Blaie. 

The jewel of a good man is a 
good conscience. 

Take care to keep a good con- 
science, and leave to others the 
care of keeping your good name. 

He that loses his conscience has 
nothing that is left worth keeping. 



He does nothing who consoles 
a desponding man with words. 
Pie is a true friend who, under 
doubtful circumstances, aids in 
deed when deeds are necessary. 
—Plant. 



€onimimmt 

It is one property which, they 
say, is required of those that seek 
the philosopher's stone, that they 
must not do it with any covetous 
desire to be ricli, for otherwise 
they shall never lind it. But most 
true it is, that whosoever would 
have this jewel of contentment, 
(which turns all into gold, yea, 
want into wealth,) must come with 



minds divested of all ambitious and 
covetous thoughts, else are they 
never likely to obtain it. — Fuller. 

When winds the mountain oak 
assail, 

And lay its glories waste. 
Content may slumber in the vale, 

Unconscious of the blast. 

The foundation of content must 
spring up in a man's own mind ; 
and he who has so little knowl- 
edge of human natm-e as to seek 
happiness by changing anything 
but his own disposition, will waste 
his life in fruitless efforts, and mul- 
tiply the griefs which he purposes 
to remove. — Jonxsox. 

Coxtextmext abides with truth. 
And yon will generally suffer for 
wishing to appear other than you 
are, whether it be richer, or great- 
er, or more learned. The mask 
soon becomes an instrument of 
torture. — Feiexds in Couxcil. 

Coxtextmext is a pearl of great 
price ; and whoever procures it at 
the expense of ten thousand de- 
sires makes a wise and a happy 
purchase. — Balguy. 

CoxTEXT is the mark wc all 
aim at, the chief good and top of 
felicity, to which all men's actions 
strive to ascend ; but it is solely 
proper to God's wisdom to engross 
all true content into his own 
hand, that he may sell it to saints 
by retail, and enforce all men to 



COXTENTMEXT. 



61 



buy it of him or want it. Hence 
is it that a godly man in his mean 
estate enjoys more content in 
God than a king or emperor in 
his earthly glory and magnificence. 
I will then strive to pm'chase me 
a patent of content from him that 
hath a monopoly thereof, and then 
if I have little in estate I shall 
have much in content. — Waewick. 

Theee is no estate of life so 
happy in this world as to yield a 
Christian the perfection of con- 
tent, and yet there is no state of 
life so wretched in this world but 
a Christian must be content with 
it. Though I can have nothing 
here that may give me true con- 
tent, yet I will learn to be truly 
contented here with what I have. 
— Waewick. 

Feom labor health, from health 

contentment springs ; 
Contentment opes the source of 

every joy. Beattie. 

The noblest mind the best con- 
tentment has. ^ Spexser. 

When we cannot find content- 
ment in ourselves, it is useless to 
seek it elsewhere. — La Koche- 

EODOAULD. 

It is in the power of every man 
to be rich, provided he will be 

content. 

SixcE the stars of heaven do 
diifer in glory; smce it hath 



pleased the Almighty hand to 
honor the north pole with lights 
above the south ; since there are 
some stars so bright that they 
can hardly be looked on, some 
so dim that they can scarce 
be seen, and vast numbers not to 
be seen at all, even by artificial 
eyes; read thou the earth in 
heaven, and things below from 
above. Look contentedly upon 
the scattered difference of things, 
and expect not equality in luster, 
dignity, or perfection, in regions 
or persons below, where numer- 
ous members must be content to 
stand like lacteous or nebulous 
stars, little taken notice of or dim 
in their generations. All which 
may be contentedly allowable in 
the affairs and ends of this world, 
and in suspension unto what will 
be in the order of things here- 
after, and the new system of man- 
kind which will be in the world 
to come, when the last may be 
first, and the first the last; when 
Lazarus may sit above Cesar, 
and the just, obscure on earth, 
shall shine like the sun in heaven ; 
when personations shall cease and 
histrionism of happiness be over; 
when reality shall rule, and all 
shall be as they shall be forever. — 
SiE T. Beowne. 



He that suffers a transporting 
passion concerning things within 
the power of others is free from 
sorrow and amazement no longer 
than his enemy shall give him 
leave, and it is ten to one but he 



62 



COXTEXTMEXT. 



shall be smitten tlien and there 
where it shall most trouble him ; 
for so the adder teaches us where 
to strike, by her curious and fear- 
ful defending of her head. The 
old Stoics when you told them of 
a sad story would still answer, 
" What is that to me?" Yes; for 
the tyrant hath sentenced you 
also to prison, "Well, what is 
that? He will put a chain upon 
my leg, but he cannot bind my 
soul." Xo; but he will kill you. 
" Then I will die. If presently, 
let me go that I may presently be 
freer than himself; but if not till 
to-morrow I will dine first." 
This in Gentile philosophy is the 
same with the discourse of St. 
Paul : " I have learned m whatso- 
ever state I am, therewith to be 
content. I know both how to 
be abased, and I know how to 
abound." — Jeeemy Tayloe. 

He of ail mortals is the least in 
want who desires the least. — Sye. 

My crown is in my heart, not on 
my head ; 

Xot deck'd with diamonds and In- 
dian stones, 

Xor to bo seen: my crown is 
called content; 

A crown it is that seldom kings 
enjoy. Siiakspeaee. 

To EEJoicE in another's pros- 
perity, is to give content to your 
own lot; to mitigate another's 
grief, is to alleviate or dispel your 
(nvn. — Edwards. 



XoxniNG Avill content him Avho 
is not content with a little. — 
Epicueus. 

I EAEN that I eat, get that I 
wear ; owe no man hate, envy no 
man's happiness; glad of other 
men's good, content with my 
harm. — Shakspeaee. 

CoxTEXTMEXT gives a crown 
Where fortune hath denied it. 

FOED. 

HappdvEss and misery are the 
names of two extremes, the ut- 
most bounds whereof we know 
not, but of some degrees of both 
we have many lively impressions 
by delight on the one side, and 
sorrow on the other, and, there- 
fore, WQ may distinguish them by 
the names of pleasure and pain. 
Happiness in its full extent is the 
utmost pleasure we are capable of, 
and the lowest degree of it is so 
much ease from all pain and so 
much pleasure as without which 
one cannot be content ; we, there- 
fore, j^dge that whoever is con- 
tented is happy. — Locke. 

As IT frequently happens that 
many persons in easy circum- 
stances, or who liave many com- 
fortable things, are notwithstand- 
ing very discontented, it would 
be well for some friend thus to 
reason with them : "Have you 
ever compared your situation 
with those who labor in the gold 
mines of Peru, or with those in 



COXTEXTMEXT — COXTRO YERSIES. 



your own country who have 
hardly ever seen the sun, hut live 
confined in tin-mines, lead-mines, 
stone-quarries, and coal-pits? Be- 
fore you think yourself miserable, 
take a sm-vey of the jails in which 
unfortunate debtors are confined, 
and some even for life; walk 
through the wards of a hospital ; 
think of the hardships of a com- 
mon soldier or sailor ; think of 
the galley slave and the day la- 
borer; reflect upon the condition 
of many large poor families, who 
have continual distress or sick- 
ness. Physicians and ministers 
are often witnesses to scenes even 
more wretched than these, where 
to poverty, cold, and nakedness 
are added the languors of linger- 
ing and loathsome diseases, and 
the torments of excruciating pain." 
Xow let those who are miserable 
among many mercies, return as it 
were from these sad scenes to 
their closets, and gratefully ac- 
knowledge the goodness of God 
in exempting them from so many 
real ills, which so many labor 
under, and instead of spending 
their hours in brooding over their 
own imaginary evils, let them be 
continually cheerful, happy, and 
thankful. — De. Kxox. 

That lovely bird of paradise, 
" Christian contentment," can sit 
and sing in a cage of affliction and 
confinement, or fly at liberty 
through the vast expanse with 
almost equal satisfaction, while 
''Even so. Father, for so it seem- 



eth good in thy sight," is the chief 
note in its celestial song. — Swaix. 

PooK and content is rich, and 

rich enough ; 
But riches endless is as poor as 

winter 
To him that always fears he shall 

be poor. Shakspeaee. 

He who is contented and mas- 
ter of himself, in a homely retreat, 
with a little, enjoys the wealth and 
curiosities of the world better 
than the rich and powerful who 
possess them. 

A coxTEXTED mind is the great- 
est blessing a man can enjoy in 
this world ; and if in the present 
life his happiness arises from the 
subduing of his desires, it will 
arise in the next from the gratifi- 
cation of them. — Addisox. 



Wesley very near the close of 
his life made this public declara- 
tion : " In the younger part of my 
life I was fond of controversies, 
but I have now lived long enough 
in the world to know better." 

Theee is no learned man but 
will confess he hath much profit- 
ed by reading controversies ; his 
senses awakened, his judgment 
sharpened, and the truth which 
he holds more firmly established. 
If then it be profitable for him to 



Gi 



COXTROVERSIES— CONVERSATION. 



read, why slionld it not at least 
be tolerable and free for his ad- 
versary to Tvrite? In logic they 
teach, that contraries laid together 
more evidently appear ; it follows, 
then, that all controversy being 
permitted, falsehood will appear 
more false, and truth the more 
true; which must needs conduce 
much to the general confirmation 
of unimplicit truth. — ITiltox. 

Most controversies would soon 
be ended if those engaged in them 
would first accurately define their 
terms and then rigidly adhere to 
them. — T. Edwaeds. 



That part of life which we 
ordinarily understand by the word 
conversation is an indulgence to 
the sociable part of our make, and 
should incline us to bring our pro- 
portion of good-will or good- 
liumor among the friends we meet 
wdth, and not to trouble them 
with relations which must of 
necessity oblige them to a real or 
feigned affliction. Cares, dis- 
tresses, diseases, uneasinesses, and 
dislikes of our own are by no 
means to be obtruded upon our 
friends. If we would consider 
how little of this vicissitude of 
motion and rest, which we call 
life, is spent with satisfaction, we 
should be more tender of our 
friends than to bring them little 
sorrows which do not belong to 



them. Tliere is no real life but 
cheerful life; therefore valetudina- 
rians should be sworn, before they 
enter into company, not to say a 
word of themselves until the meet- 
ing breaks up. — Addisox. 

Notwithstanding the means of 
grace, and likewise of mental im- 
provement, are now so plentiful, 
yet it is to be lamented that the 
state of spiritual conversation is 
very low, even among real Chris- 
tians; therefore perhaps the fol- 
lowing plain directions for the 
improvement of it may be made 
useful. Now, to render it more 
profitable and pleasing, four things 
should be united, piety, knowl- 
edge, prudence, and affability. 

1. Piety. — Hypocrites or mere 
professors may indeed learn to 
converse very well, but there is a 
certain simplicity and savor in 
the conversation of truly pious 
persons which will ever distin- 
guish them. But some very gra- 
cious persons not being sufiSciently 
informed as to learning, we nmst 
add, 

2. Knowledge. — In order to 
shine in polite company, a pretty 
large acquaintance with the best 
evangelical authors is requisite ; 
however, as most Christians have 
not the means for this, an extens- 
ive knowledge of the Bible, and 
some acquaintance with a few of 
the best authors, will make them 
pretty well furnished for religious 
conversation. But a mere reading 
will not be sufficient ; it requires 



COXYERSATION. 



Go 



also a considerable knowledge of 
human nature, and especially our 
own hearts, to be able to speak 
experimentallj and judiciously. 

3. PpwUdexce. — Nothing is more 
necessary than this in religious 
conversation, and for want of it 
even piety and learning will be 
deficient. I do not mean that we 
should be artful in conversation, 
but, consistently with conscience, 
we should certainly avoid giving 
offense, and be as agreeable as we 
can. For this end we should en- 
deavor to know our company, not 
to speak too much, and to avoid 
passion, slander, and affectation; 
and in conversation w^e should 
ever remember that it is not so 
much that which is finely said as 
that which is fitly spoken that 
edifies and pleases. 

Lastly, Affability is another 
excellent qualification in religious 
conversation; for as knowledge 
teaches us w^hat to say, and pru- 
dence when to say it, so affability 
teaches how to speak in an agree- 
able maimer. It is true indeed 
that every Christian has not a 
good temper, or a natural, pleas- 
ing way of speaking; but yet as an 
affectionate and engaging way in 
conversation may make us so use- 
ful to those -we converse with, 
every gracious person should 
strive more and more to attain to 
it. If we would maintain this 
pleasant and courteous way of 
speaking in. conversation, we must 
not only be determined to take no 
offense at trifles in what may be 



spoken, but also carefully guard 
against the risings of envy, preju- 
dice, etc., and indulge a liberal 
and candid disposition toward all 
that we associate with, so fiir as 
we possibly can, consistently with 
the Gospel, truth, and propriety. 
— Peotestax't Dissextees' ATaga- 

ZIXE. 

The first ingredient in conversa- 
tion is truth ; the next, good sense ; 
the third, good-humor; and the 
fourth, wit. — Temple. 

OxE tiling which makes ns find 
so few people who appear reason- 
able and agreeable in conversation 
is, that there is scarcely any one 
who does not think more of what 
he is about to say than of answer- 
ing precisely what is said to him. 
The cleverest and most complai- 
sant people content themselves 
with merely showing an attentive 
countenance, while we can see in 
their eyes and minds a Avandering 
from what is said to them, and an 
impatience to return to what they 
wish to say ; instead of reflecting 
that it is a bad method of pleasing 
or persuading others, to be so 
studious of pleasing one's self, and 
that listening w^eU and answering 
weU is one of the greatest perfec- 
tions that can be attained in con- 
versation. — La Eochefoucauld. 

0]snE of the best rules in conver- 
sation is, never to say a thing 
which any of the company can 
reasonably wish we had rather 
left unsaid. Nor can there any- 



66 



COX VERSIOX — COUNSEL. 



thing be more contrary to the I Giving the Ijcart and life to 
ends for which people meet to- God is the hardest, easiest thing 
gether, than to part unsatisfied in the world. It is like a secret 



with each other or themselves.- 

SWIFT. 



€oxtbtx%xon. 

The religious world is divided 
into many sects ; but perhaps the 
most numerous party consists of 
nominal Christians, who indeed 
do not deny any of tlie doctrines 
of the Gospel, but make only a 
form of attending the means. 
With respect to their spiritual 
state, they may be said to have 
fallen into a deep sleep, and in 
the midst of their bodily activity 
their souls are sunk in slumber. 
Is it possible, it might be asked, 
that any can sleep so soundly in 
an uncertain state, while the house 
they inhabit may be said to be in 
flames, or while they be on the 
very brink of a precipice, from 
which if they fall they rise no 
more? Tliis is not only possible but 
quite common. But perliaps it 
may be said that they are very 
moral persons, and attend the Gos- 
pel, and therefore we should let 
them alone. By no means. As 
life is so uncertain, the soul is so 
precious, and they, being unregen- 
erated, are in a dangerous state, 
ministers should, as they are com- 
manded, cry aloud in hopes of 
awakening such unthinking mor- 
tals. — i>l!. Kxox", 



in arithmetic, exceedingly hard 
till discovered, and then so easy 
that we are amazed that we did 
not understand it before. 

It is a greater favor to be con- 
verted than to be created ; yea, 
it were better for us to have no 
being than not to have a new 

being. — Seckee, 



€omxuL 

He deserves small trust who is 
not privy counselor to himself. — 

FOED. 

TnEEE is as much difference 
between the counsel that a friend 
giveth and that a man giveth 
himself, as there is between the 
counsel of a friend and a flatterer. 
— LoED Bacox. 

Inext a good life, to beget love 
in the persons we counsel by dis- 
sembling our knowledge of ability 
in others, and, avoiding all suspi- 
cion of arrogance, ascribing all to 
their instruction, as an embassa- 
dor to his master, or a subject to 
his sovereign; seasoning all with 
humanity and sweetness, only 
expressing care and solicitude. 
And not to counsel rashly, or on 
the sudden, but with advice and 
meditation. For many foolish 
things fall from wise men if they 



COUXSEL — COURAGE — COVETOUSNESS. 



speak in. haste, or be extemporal, 
It therefore behooves the giver of 
counsel to be circumspect, espe- 
cially to beware of those with 
whom he is not thoroughly ac- 
quainted, lest any spice of rash- 
ness, folly, or self-love appear, 
which will be marked by new 
persons, and men of experience in 
affairs. — Johnson. 

Xext to the immediate guid- 
ance of God by his Spirit, the coun- 
sel and encouragement of virtuous 
and enlightened friends aiford 
the most pow^erful aid in the en- 
counter of temptation, and in the 
career of dutv. — Hall. 



True courage is the result of 
reasoning. A brave mind is al- 
ways impregnable. Eesolution 
lies more in the head than in the 
veins; and a just sense of honor 
and of infamy, of duty and of 
religion, wall carry us further than 
all the force of meclianism. — 
Collier. 

Courage, by keeping the senses 
quiet and the understanding 
clear, puts us in a condition to 
receive true intelligence, to make 
just computations upon danger, 
and pronounce rightly upon that 
which threatens us. Innocence of 
life, consciousness of worth, and 
great expectations are the best 
foundations of courage. These 



ingredients make a richer cordial 
tlian youth can prepare. They 
warm the heart at eighty, and 
seldom fail in operation. 



courage is to madness ne'er 
allied ; 
A brutal rage where prudence does 
not guide. Blackmore. 

Courage is nothing more than 
a power of opposing danger with 
serenity and perseverance. 

An intrepid courage is at best 
but a holiday kind of virtue, to be 
seldom exercised, and never but 
in cases of necessity. Affability, 
mildness, tenderness, and a word 
w^hich I would fain bring back to 
its original signification of virtue, 
I mean good-nature, are of daily 
use; they are the bread of man- 
kind, and staff of life. — Drtden. 

It requires great courage and 
self-denial to stand up for God, 
and speak on his behalf in main- 
taining the great and precious 
truths which he has revealed in 
his Word, and which are every day 
and everywhere spoken against. 
— Dr. Emmoxs. 



I SHOULD marvel that the covet- 
ous man can still be poor, when the 
rich man is stiU covetous, but that 
I see a poor man can be content 
when the contented man is only 



, 



G8 



CO\-ETOUSNESS. 



rich; the one Vv'antiiif,^ in his store, 
while the other is stored in his 
wants. I see, then, we are not 
rich or poor by what we possess, 
but by what we desire.-r— Aethue 
Warwick. 

The covetous man is a down- 
right servant, a draught-liorse 
without bells or feathers ; a man 
condemned to work in mines, 
which is the lowest and hardest 
condition of servitude ; and, to in- 
crease his misery, a worker there 
for he knows not whom. "He 
heapeth up riches, and knows not 
who shall enjoy them." It is only 
sure that he himself neither shall 
nor can enjoy them. He is an in- 
digent, needy slave ; he will hardly 
allow himself clothes and board- 
wages. He defrauds not only other 
men, but his own genius; he cheats 
himself for money. But the serv- 
ile and miserable condition of this 
wretch is so apparent, that I leave 
it as evident to every man's sight 
as well as judgment. — Cowley. 

The covetous person lives as if 
the world were made altogether 
for him, and not he for the world ; 
to take in everything, and to ])art 
with nothing. Charity is account- 
ed no grace with liim, nor grati- 
tude any virtue. The cries of the 
poor never enter into his ears; or 
if tliey do, he has always one ear 
readier to let them out than the 
other to take them in. In a word, 
by his rapines and extortions he 
is always for making as many poor 



as he can, but for relieving none 
whom he either finds or makes so. 
So that it is a question whether 
his heart be harder or his fist 
closer. In a word, he is a pest 
and a monster : greedier than the 
sea, and barrener than the shore. 
— South. 

The best covetousness a minis- 
ter can possess is to be covetous 
after the souls of men. "We should 
judge our work is never done while 
one single unconverted soul is Avith- 
in our reach. Alas, then, how lit- 
tle have we done in comparison 
of what we have to do! O for 
more of that holy zeal which 
makes us travail in birth again, 
till Christ shall be formed within 
the souls of thousands that are 
dead in trespasses and sins I — R. 
Hill. 

Covetous men are fools, miser- 
able wretches, buzzards, madmen, 
who live by themselves, in perpet- 
ual slavery, fear, suspicion, sorrow, 
discontent, with more of gall than 
honey in their enjoyments, who 
are rather possessed by their mon- 
ey than possessors of it; mancijmti 
pectin lis, bound 'prentices to their 
property; and, so'vi dimtiarum, 
mean slaves and drudges to their 
substance. — Buetox. 

How GEEEDY is covctousncss. 
The savage beasts keej) themselves 
in the bounds that nature pre- 
scribes; they do not do violence, 
they do not devour but only when 



CO YETOUS^^ESS — CRE ATIOK 



69 



they are pressed -witli hunger; 
thej leave their prev when they 
are satisfied. The avarice of the 
rich is only unsatiable ; this rakes, 
this always devours, and nothing 
can satisfy it. — St. Austix. 

Some men are as covetous as if 
they were to live forever; and 
others as profuse as if they were 
to die the next moment. — Aeis- 

TOTLE. 

As EASHXESS is the vice of youth, 
so immoderate care and covetous- 
ness are the vices of old age. This 
we can account for, because as the 
vigor of body and mind decline, 
timidity may be expected to in- 
crease. With anxious and fearfal 
eye the aged look forward on the 
evils which threaten them; hence 
they are apt to overvalue riches, 
as the best means to secure them 
against dangers and disrespect. 
But though it is proper and pru- 
dent to make some provision for 
declining years, yet the aged should 
remember that money .only pro- 
cures a pretended regard. But 
above all they should recollect 
that avarice is a sin against God, 
as it argues a distrust of his prov- 
idence and a sin against man, as 
it hardens the heart and shuts the 
hands when any case of distress 
presents itself, or we have an 
opportunity to do good, — De. 
Blaie. 

Rich people who are covetous 
are like the cypress-tree ; they 



may appear well, but are fruitless. 
So rich persons have the means to 
be generous, yet some are not so ; 
but they should consider they are 
only trustees for what they pos- 
sess, and should show their wealth 
to be more in doing good than 
merely in having it. They should 
not reserve their benevolence for 
purposes after they are dead, for 
those who give not till they die, 
show that they would not then if 
they could keep it any longer. — 
Bishop Hall. 



€xmixan. 

The works of creation are ad- 
mirable. Providence is beyond 
our comprehension; but redemp- 
tion is what the angels desired to 
look into. — St. Austix. 

"What a magnificent spectacle is 
presented in the works of crea- 
tion ! What a profasion of beauty 
is poured forth in the face of na- 
ture ! AVhat a rich supply for the 
wants of man ! And what a vast 
variety of objects to employ his 
understanding and devotion, to 
please his senses, and cheer and 
gladden his heart ! 

All things in the creation God 
has designed for the profit, the 
convenience, or the pleasure of all 
the animal creation, and especially 
of man. What is more necessary 
for the support of life than food? 
Behold, the earth is full of it all 



70 



CKEATIOX. 



around. Grass, herbs, and fruits 
for beasts and men, so that an an- 
imal can scarce wander anywhere 
but liis food is near him. Amaz- 
ing provision for sucli an immense 
tamily. 

What is more useful and joyful 
than tlie light ? See the whole of 
the heavens is replenished with 
sunbeams; so that while the day 
lasts, wheresoever the eye is placed 
it is surrounded with this enjoy- 
ment. Without light nature would 
be a large and eternal blank, and 
her innumerable beauties forever 
unknown ; but by light we are en- 
tertained with all the particular 
varieties of the creation. 

Again, what are the sweetest 
colors in nature, and the most de- 
lightful and refreshing to the eye? 
Surely the green and the blue 
claim this pre-eminence ; the red 
and the yellow, or orange, give 
greater pain and confusion to the 
eye, and dazzle it sooner; there- 
fore the divine goodness has dressed 
the heavens in blue, and the earth 
in green. Her habitation is ever 
hung w^ith a canopy of the most 
beautiful azure, and a rich verdant 
carpet is spread under, our feet, 
that the eye may be pleased and 
easy wheresoever it turns itself, 
and that the most universal objects 
it has to convei-se with might not 
impair the spirits, nor make the 
senses weary. — Dk. Watts. 

The earth is assigned us for a 
dwelling. The skies urc stretched 
over us like a magnilieent canojjy. 



dyed in the purest azure, and beau- 
tified sometimes with pictures of 
floating silver, and at other times 
with coverings of refiected crim- 
son ; the grass is spread under us 
as a spacious carpet, woven with 
silken threads of green, and dam- 
asked with flowers of every hue ; 
the sun, like a golden lamp, is hung 
out in the ethereal vault, and pours 
his eff'ulgence all the day to en- 
hghten our paths. When night 
approaches, the moon takes up the 
friendly office, and the stars are 
kindled into twinkling myriads, to 
cheer the darkness with their mild- 
er luster, nor distui'b our repose 
by too intense a glare ; the clouds 
act the part of a shifting screen, 
and defend us, by their seasonable 
interposition, from the scorching 
beams of summer. May we not 
also regard them as the great wa- 
tering-pots of the globe, which, 
wafted on the wings of the wind, 
disperse their moisture evenly 
through the universal garden, and 
fructify by their showers what- 
ever our hand plants. The fields 
are our exhaustless granary, and 
the ocean is our vast reservoir; 
tlie animals open their strength to 
dispatch our business, resign their 
clothing to replenish our wardrobe, 
and surrender their very lives to 
provide for our tables; in short, 
every element is a storehouse of 
conveniences, every season brings 
us the choicest productions, and 
all nature is our caterer; and what 
is a most endearing recommenda- 
tion of these favors, they are all as 



CREDULITY — CROSS, THE. 



lovelj as they are useful; all is 
clad in beauty's fairest robe, and 
regulated by proportion's nicest 
rule. The whole scene exhibits a 
fund of pleasure to the imagina- 
tion, at the same time that it more 
than supplies om* wants. 

The beauties of creation are far 
beyond the refinements of art, the 
pageantry of theaters, the glitter- 
ings of assemblies, or the orna- 
ments of palaces. If we properly 
inspect the stately volume of the 
creation, every leaf is a wide plain, 
every Hue a flowing brook, and 
every period is a lofty mountain. 
In the works of creation we scarce- 
ly know which to admire most, 
their endless variety or their beau- 
tiful simplicity, and above all their 
perfect execution. All human 
performances, the more they are 
scanned, the more imperfect they 
appear; but the works of nature 
have stood the test of the most 
minute investigation for near six 
thousand years, and appear more 
and more beautiful. 

There is not a more powerful 
incentive to devout gratitude, than 
to consider the magnificent and 
delicate scene of the universe with 
reference to Christ, for we are ex- 
pressly told all things were created 
by him and for him. Every ob- 
ject, viewed in this light by a be- 
liever, increases divine love in the 
heart, every production of nature 
strikes a spark into the soul, and 
tlie whole creation raises the 
smoking flax into a flame. — 
Hervet. 



€xt^xxlxim 

Of all kinds of credulity the 
most obstinate and wonderful is 
that of political zealots; of men 
who, being numbered they know 
not how or why, in any of the 
parties that divide a state, resign 
the use of their own eyes and ears, 
and resolve to believe nothing 
that does not favor those whom 
they profess to follow.— Jonxsox. 

The most positive men are the 
most credulous, since they most 
beheve themselves, and advise 
most with their fellow -flatterer 
and worst enemy, their own false 
love. — Pope. 

CREDULorsNESS is the concomi- 
tant of the first stages of life, and is 
indeed the principle on which all 
instruction must be founded ; but 
it lays the mind open to impres- 
sions of error as well as of truth, 
and when suffered to combine it- 
self with that passion for the mar- 
velous which all children discover 
it fosters the rankest weeds of 
chimera and superstition. Hence 
the awful solemnity of " darkness 
visible," and of what the poet has 
denominated "a dim religious 
light," together with the terrors 
of evil omens or haunted places, and 
of ghastly specters. — Peecival. 



There is no man that goeth to 
heaven but he must go by the 



CROSS, THE — CUXXIXG 



cross. The cross is the standing 
way-mark by which all they that 
go to glory must pass by. — 

BUNYAX. 

See in the cross, my brethren, a 
very wonderful spectacle. If im- 
piety sees it, 'tis a subject of ridi- 
cule ; if piety views it, 'tis a great 
mystery, — St. Austin. 

TnE cross is the concord of the 
Scriptures, and, as it were, the 
boundary and border-land of old 
and new things. The cross con- 
federates heaven and earth; the 
cross rejoins men and angels in 
the unanimity of their ancient 
concord. The cross is the death 
of vice, and the fountain and life 
of all virtue. The cross is the 
courage of those that are fighting 
bravely ; the recovery of those 
that are fallen; the crown of 
those that are victorious. The 
cross subjects us to a moment- 
ary death, and recompenses us 
with eternal life. — Petee Da- 

MIAXI. 

Some when they come at the 
cross will either make a stop 
and go no further, or else, if they 
can, step over it; if not, they will 
go round about, turn aside to the 
left hand or to the right hand, 
and so think to get to heaven 
another way ; but they will be 
deceived. Do not thou this; 
but take up the cross and kiss 
it, and bear it after Jesus. — 

IklNYAX. 



Cunning. 

CuxxixG differs from wisdom as 
twilight from open day. He that 
walks in the sunshine goes boldly 
forward by the nearest way ; he 
sees that, when the path is straight 
and even, he may proceed in se- 
curity, and when it is rough and 
crooked he easily complies with 
the turns and avoids the obstruc- 
tions. IJut the traveler in the 
dusk fears more as lie sees less ; 
he knows there may be danger, 
and therefore suspects that he is 
never safe, tries ever}' step before 
he fixes his foot, and shrinks at 
every noise, lest violence should 
approach him. Cunning discov- 
ers little at a time, and has no 
other means of certainty than mul- 
tiplication of stratagems and su- 
perfluity of suspicion. Yet men, 
thus narrow by nature and mean 
by art, are sometimes able to rise 
by the miscarriages of bravery 
and the openness of integrity ; 
and by watching failures and 
snatching opportunities obtain ad- 
vantages which belong properly 
to higher characters.— -Jonxsox. 

CuxxiXG has only private, self- 
ish aims, and sticks at nothing 
which may make them succeed. 
Discretion has large and extended 
views, and, like a well-formed eye, 
commands a whole horizon. Cun- 
ning is a kind of short-sightedness 
that discovers the minutest objects 
which are near at hand, but is not 
able to discern things at a dis- 



CURIOSITY — CUSTOM — DEATH. 



tance. Discretion, the more it is 
.discovered, gives a greater author- 
ity to the person who possesses it. 
Discretion is the perfection of 
reason, and a guide to us in all 
the duties of life. Cunning is a 
kind of instinct, that only looks out 
after our immediate interest and 
welfare. Discretion is only found 
in men of strong sense and good 
understandings. Cunning is often 
to be met with in brutes them- 
selves, and in persons who are but 
the fewest removes from them. 
In short, cunning is only the 
mimic of discretion, and may pass 
upon weak men in the same man- 
ner as vivacity is often mistaken 
for wit, and gravity for wisdom. — 
Addisox. 



Custom in sin is one reason why 
I spiritual and moral means against 
it are so frequently ineffectual. 
The depravity of the human mind 
being so great, evil customs are so 
strong, that this is the principal 
reason why we seldom see an old 
unmoral person, or one that has 
been long accustomed to self- 
righteousness, either converted, or 
even convinced that he is wrong. 
— Yexx. 

Mankind in herds through force 
of custom stray, 

Mislead each other into error's 
way. 

Thus some go on in sin at the ex- 
pense 

Of reason, truth, and common 
sense. 



CuKiosiTY concerning another's 
private affairs is called "idle," be- 
cause it hath a satanic original. 

CuEiosiTT is a kernel of the for- 
bidden fruit, which still sticketh 
in the throat of a natural man, 
sometimes to the danger of his 
choking. — Fuller. 



Custom is frequently too hard 
to be conquered: hence it was 
that tlie Cretans, when they cursed 
tlieir enemies, wished that they 
might be subject to evil customs. 



geilj* 



For aught we know of om*- 
selves, of our present life and of 
death, death may immediately, in 
the natural course of things, put 
us into a higher and more enlarged 
state of life, as our birth does; a 
state in which our capacities and 
sphere of perception and of action 
may be much greater than at 
present. For as our relation to 
our external organs of sense ren- 
ders us capable of existing in our 
present state of sensation, so it 
may be the only natural hinder- 
ance to our existing immediately, 
and of course in a higher state of 
reflection. Tlie truth is, reason 



DEATH. 



does not at all show us in what 
state death naturally leaves us. 
The suspension of a power and 
the destruction of it are eifects so 
totally different in kind, as we 
experience in sleep and a swoon, 
that we cannot in any wise argue 
from one to the other, or conclude 
that the force which is sufficient 
to suspend our faculties will be 
sufficient to destroy them, — 

BCTLER. 

The death of saints was for- 
merly honored with groans and 
tears. Joseph wept bitterly for 
the death of Jacob ; the Jews as 
much for that of Moses. "We re- 
joice now when saints die. The 
saddest things have changed their 
nature as it were since the Son 
of God was crucified. Tears no 
more are shed, for the death of 
the just; instead of groaning over 
tlieir tombs, we sing and leap for 
joy there. — St. Basilius. 

The philosophers set a great 
value upon that thought of Plato, 
that all the life of wise men is a 
meditation of death. But St. 
Paul's saying is much stronger, 
" I die daily." For to act is a 
different thing from endeavoring 
to act, and there is a great differ- 
ence between living to die and 
(lying to live. — St. Jekome. 

There is nothing more certain 
than death, nothing more uncer- 
tain than the time of dying. I 
will, therefore, be i)rcpared for 



that at all times, whicli may come 
at any time, must come at one 
time or another. I shall not hast- 
en my death by being still ready, 
but sweeten it. It makes me not 
die the sooner, but the better. — 
Waewick. 

Death to a good man is but 
passing through a dark entry, out 
of one little dusky room of his 
father's house into another that is 
fair and large, lightsome and glori- 
ous, and divinely entertaining. — 
Claeke. 

As DEATH is the total change of 
life, every change is the death of 
some part. Sickness is the death 
of health ; sleeping, of waking : 
sorrow, of joy; impatience, of 
quiet; youth, of infancy; age, 
of youth. All things which fol- 
low time, and even time itself, at 
last must die. — Taylor. 

If thou expect death as a friend, 
prepare to entertain it ; if thou ex- 
pect death as an enemy, prepare 
to overcome it. Death has no ad- 
vantage but when it comes as a 
stranger. — Quaeles. 

Be still prepared for death, and 
death or life shall thereby be the 
sweeter. — Shakspeark. 

It is time we were done talking 
of death as "The great tyrant," 
"The enoiny," etc. Death, it is 
only God's call, "Come home." 
It is but the messenger to bring 



DEATH. 



them home sent to homesick chil- 
dren at a boarding-school, or the 
permission to return to his native 
land sent to an. exile. — H. W. 
Beechee. 

Those born once only die 
twice ; thej die a temporal and an 
eternal death. But those who 
are born twice die only once, for 
over them the second death hath 
no power. — Jay. 

Maxy of the truly pious have 
been called to finish their course 
without those vivid and trans- 
porting joys which others have 
experienced. It frequently and 
perhaps generally happens that 
the diseases which terminate in 
dissolution so aifect the frame, as 
by a certain law of nature to dis- 
turb or impede the regular move- 
ments of the mind. "We have no 
right in such cases to expect mira- 
cles. When the Christian whose 
strength is exhausted, whose 
nerves are shattered, and whose 
w^hole frame is worn down with 
sharp pain or long protracted 
sickness, finds himself unable to 
meditate or pray with that fixed- 
ness and fervor of soul which he 
has often experienced in these ex- 
ercises, his hope may still be firm 
and steadfast, while with broken, 
faltering accents he repeats and 
appropriates the language of the 
Psalmist : " My heart and my flesh 
faileth ; but God is the strength of 
my heart, and my portion for- 
ever." 



" Let us eat and drink, for to- 
morrow we die." What do you 
say? repeat what you just said. 
"Let us eat and drink," say you; 
but what did you say after, "For 
to-morrow we die?" You have 
frightened me, you have not re- 
duced me. Yea, by these last 
words you are so far from making 
me be of your opinion that you 
make me against you; you only 
terrify me. You said, "For to- 
morrow we die," and you said be- 
fore, "Let us eat and drink." 
This is not just reasoning; but I 
will tell you what you ought to 
say, according to the rules of 
good sense. Let us fast and pray 
for to-morrow we die. — St. 
Austin". 

Whex I look upon the tombs of 
the great, every emotion of envy 
dies in me; when I read the epi- 
taphs of the beautiful, every inor- 
dinate desire goes out; when I 
meet with the grief of parents 
upon a tombstone, my heart melts 
with compassion; when I see the 
tombs of the parents themselves, 
I consider the vanity of grieving 
for those whom we must quickly 
follow ; when I see kings lying by 
those who deposed them, when I 
consider rival wits placed side by 
side, or the holy men that divided 
the world with their contests and 
disputes, I reflect with sorrow and 
astonishment on the little competi- 
tions, factions, and debates of man- 
kind. When I read the several 
dates of the tombs, of some that 



76 



DEATH. 



died yesterday, and some six hund- 
red yeai-s ago, I consider that great 
day Avhen we shall all of us be 
cotemporaries, and make our ap- 
pearance together. — Spectatoe. 

He that lives well cannot choose 
but die well. For if he die sud- 
denly, yet he dies not unprepared- 
ly; if by leisure, the conscience 
of his well-led life makes his death 
more comfortable. But it is sel- 
dom seen that he which liveth ill 
dieth well. For the conscience of 
his former evils, his present pain, 
and the expectation and fear of 
greater, so take up his heart that 
he cannot seek God. And now it 
is just with God not to be sought or 
not to be found, because he sought 
to find him in his lifetime and 
was repulsed. Whereas therefore 
there are usually two main cares 
of good men, to live well and die 
well, I will have but this one, to 
live well. — Hall. 

Death did not first strike Adam, 
the first sinful man ; nor Cain, the 
first hypocrite ; but Abel, the in- 
nocent and righteous. The first 
soul that met with death over- 
came death; the first soul that 
parted from earth went to heaven. 
Death argues not displeasure, be- 
cause he whom God loved best 
dies first, and the murderer is 
punished with living. — Hall. 

Death is not, to the Christian, 
what it has often _ been called, 
" Paying the debt of nature." No, 



it is not paying a debt ; it is rather 
like bringing a note to a bank, to 
obtain solid gold in exchange for 
it. In this case you bring a cum- 
brous body which is nothing worth, 
and which you could not wish to 
retain long ; you lay it down, and 
receive for it from the eternal treas- 
ures liberty, victory, knoAvledge, 
and rapture. — Johx Foster. 

OxE may live as a conqueror, a 
king, or a magistrate ; but he must 
die as a man. The bed of death 
brings every human being to his 
pure individuality; to the intense 
contemplation of that deepest and 
most solemn of all relations, the 
relation between the creature and 
his Creator. Here it is that fame 
and renown cannot assist us ; that 
all external things must fail to aid 
us; that even friends, afiection, 
and human love and devotedness 
cannot succor us. — TTebstePw. 

We scarce conceive how easy it 
is to rob God of his due, in our 
friendship with the most virtuous 
persons, until they are torn from 
us by death. But if this loss pro- 
duce lasting sorrow, that is a clear 
proof that we had before two treas- 
ures, between which we divided 
our heart. — Johx Wesley. 

A WISE and due consideration of 
our latter end is neither to render 
us sad, melancholy, disconsolate, 
or unfit for the business and oflices 
of life ; but to make us more watch- 
ful, vigilant, industrious, sober. 



DEATH. 



77 



cheerful, and thankful to that God 
who hath been pleased thus to 
make us serviceable to him, com- 
fortable to ourselves, and profita- 
ble to others ; and after all this, to 
take away the bitterness and sting 
of death, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. — Sir M. Hale. 

How SHOCKING must thy summons 

be, O Death ! 
To him that is at ease in his pos- 
sessions ; 
Who, counting on long years of 

pleasure here, 
Is quite unfurnished for that world 

to come I 
In that dread moment, how the 

frantic soul 
Raves round the walls of Iier clay 

tenement, 
Runs to each avenue, and shrieks 

for help, 
But shrieks in vain I Blaie. 

Death to a Christian is putting 
off rags for robes. Some die by 
degrees ; that is, first infancy dies, 
then childhood, then youth, then 
manhood, then old age, and then 
we make an end of dying. There 
is nothing terrible in death but 
what our lives have made so. It 
is almost death to many to think 
of death ; they are as unwilling to 
be led into a discourse concerning 
it as children into the dark; the 
thoughts of it are no more w^el- 
come to them than Moses was to 
Pharaoh, who said to him, "Get 
tliee from me, and let me see thy 
face no more." In one point of 



view this life is a middle state, be- 
cause we must soon go higher or 
lower forever. We should think 
of death, not as though we were 
thinking, but as though we Avere 
dying. It is the greatest business 
of life to think of the end of life, 
and to lay hold of eternal life. 
Let us make a friend of death and 
our judge by saving faith, and then 
we shall die out of choice as well 
as necessity. — J, Mason. 

A GOOD man, when dyings once 
said: '''Formerly death appeared 
to me like a wide river, but now 
it has dwindled to a little rill ; and 
my comforts, which were as tlie 
rill, have become the broad and 
deep river." 

The more we mnk into the in- 
firmities of age, the nearer we are 
to immortal youth. All people 
are young in the other world. 
That state is an eternal spring, 
ever fresh and flourishing. Kow, 
to pass from midnight into noon 
on the sndden, to' be decrepit one 
minute, and all spirit and activity 
the next, must be an entertaining 
change. To call this dying is an 
abuse of language. — Coixiee, 

The fear of death often proves 
mortal, and sets people on meth- 
ods to save their lives which in- 
fallibly destroy them. This is a 
reflection made by some histori- 
ans upon observing that there are 
many more thousands killed in a 
flight than in a battle, and may be 



78 



DEATH — DECEIT. 



applied to those multitudes of im- 
aginary sick persons that break 
their constitutions by physic, and 
throw themselves into the arms 
of death by endeavoring to escape 
it. — Addison". 

A DYING but immortal being on 
the verge of eternity is as solemn 
a spectacle as the world can fur- 
nish. A hundred tender ties are 
then about to be severed. The 
delusions of the world are over; 
it can promise nothing more. It 
has done its utmost, and the total 
sum is vanity of vanities. Its 
shadowy joys and sorrows, hopes 
and fears, cares and possessions, 
are now light as a feather weighed 
against the universe; and however 
once esteemed, can no longer pain 
or please, agitate or engage the 
immortal, who is bidding them an 
eternal farewell. The past is noth- 
ing; but the future opens a tre- 
mendous and, if true support be 
wanting, a heart-appalling pros- 
pects JTew scenes, a new and 
untried world; an eternity vast, 
boundless, and endless; joy with- 
out mixture, or pain without relief; 
the mansions of light aiid glory, or 
the dark dungeons of despair; the 
welcome of angels, or the yell of 
demons, and the smile or the frown 
of the infinite Judge. — Pike. 

Fear death, but be not afraid 
of death. To fear it whets thy 
expectation ; to be afraid of it 
dulls thy preparation. If thou 
canst endure it, it is but a slight 



pain; if not, it is but a sliort pain. 
To fear death is the way to live 
long; to be afraid of death is to 
be long a dying. — Quaei.es. 

Death is a most important event. 
It stamps the characters and condi- 
tions of mankind for eternity. As 
death finds them, so they will be 
found to all eternity. — De. Em- 

MOXS. 



Deceit and falsehood, whatever 
conveniences they may for a time 
promise or produce, are, in the 
sum of life, obstacles to happiness. 
Those who profit by the cheat 
distrust the deceiver, and the act 
by which kindness was sought 
puts an end to confidence. — Johx- 

SON. 

Deceit discovers a little as well 
as a wicked mind. It is the re- 
source of one who wants courage 
to avow his designs, or to rest 
upon himself; it therefore betrays 
a dastardly spirit, and one time or 
other will certainly be discovered. 
The path of falsehood is a perplex- 
ing maze ; after the first departure 
from sincerity it is scarcely in our 
power to stop ; one artifice leads 
to another, till, as the intricacy of 
the labyrinth increases, we are left 
entangled in our own snares, which 
is the fatal omen of growing de- 
pravity and future shame. — Dr. 
Blauj. 



DECEPTIOX— DECISION — DEEDS — DEPENDEITCE. 



It is as easy to deceive one's self 
without perceiving it, as it is dif- 
ficult to deceive others without 
their perceiving it. — La Eoche- 

FOUCAULD. 

"\Ye are inconsolable at being 
deceived bj our enemies and be- 
trayed by our friends ; and yet we 
are often content to be so by our- 
selves, — La Eochefoucaijld. 

Oftentimes even one word be- 
wrayeth a whole pack of false- 
hoods ; and though superstition be 
a cleanly counterfeit, yet some slip 
of the tongue discovers it: as we 
say of devils, which, though they 
put on fair forms, yet are known 
bv a cloven foot. — Hall. 



§ecbbiT. 

Deliberate with caution, but 
act with decision ; and yield with 
graciousness, or oppose with firm- 
ness. — OOLTOX. 

See first that the design is wise 
and just: 

That ascertained, pursue it reso- 
lutely. 

Do not for one repulse forego the 

purpose 
That you resolved to efifect. 

SnAKSrEAEE. 



A GEXEEOus, a brave, a noble 
deed, performed by an adversary, 
commands our approbation, while 
in its consequences it may be 
acknowledged prejudicial to our 
particular interest. — Hume. 

That expression, "He wishes 
well," is worthless unless a person 
does well besides. — Plautus. 



He who thinks he can find in 
himself the means of doing with- 
out others is much mistaken, but 
he who thinks that others cannot 
do without him is still more mis- 
taken. — La Eochefoucauld. 

There is none made so great 
but he may both need the help 
and service, and stand in fear of 
the power and unkindness even 
of the meanest of mortals. — 
Sexeca. 



S^ 



The desires of man increase witli 
his acquisitions; every step which 
he advances brings something with- 
in his view wliich he did not see 
before, and whicli, as soon as he 
sees it, he begins to want. ^Vhere 
necessity ends curiosity begins ; 
and no sooner are we supplied witli 
evervthing that nature can de- 



80 



DESIRE — DESPAIR — DEVOTIOX. 



mand tlmn we sit down to con- 
trive artiticial appetites. — Joux- 

SON. 

It is a miserable state of mind 
to have few things to desire and 
many things to fear. — Bacox. 

Desires are the language of the 
soul: they are heard by Him who 
is the God of spirits. — Hall. 

Much will always be wanting 
To him who much desires. 

Cowley. 

TThex a man's desires are 
boundless his labor is endless; 
they will set him a task he can 
never go through, and cut him 
out work he can never finish. 
The satisfaction which he seeks is 
always absent, and the happiness 
which he aims at ever at a dis- 
tance^ He has perpetually many 
things to do, and many things to 
provide, and that which is want- 
ing cannot be numbered. — Bal- 

GUT. 

Some desire is necessary to keep 
life in motion, and he whose real 
wants are supplied must admit 
those of fancy. — Joiixsox. 



Despaiu is like froward chil- 
dren, who when you take awuy 
one of their playthings throw the 
rest into the fire for madness. It 
grows angry with itself, turns its 



own executioner, and revenges its 
misfortunes on its own head. It 
refuses to live under disappoint- 
ments and crosses, and chooses 
rather not to be at all than to be 
without the thing which it hatli 
once imagined necessary to its 
happiness. — Chareox. 

Despair makes a despicable fig- 
ure and descends from a mean 
original. 'Tis the offspring of 
fear, of laziness and impatience ; 
it argues a defect of spirit and res- 
olution, and oftentimes of honesty 
too. 

Despair antedates a misfortune, 
and tt)rments a man before his 
time. It preys upon the vitals, 
like Prometheus's vulture, and eats 
out the heart of all other satisfac- 
tions. It cramps the powers of 
nature, and cuts the sinews of 
enterprise. I would not despair 
unless I knew the irrevocable 
decree was past, unless I saw my 
misfortunes recorded in the book 
of fate, and signed and sealed .by 
necessity. To believe a business 
impossible is the way to make it 
so. How many feasible projects 
have miscarried through despond- 
ency, and been strangled in the 
birth by a cowardly imagination. — 
Collier. 



gcbotioii. 

The most illiterate man v.'ho is 
touched with devotion, and uses 
frequent exercises of it, contracts 



DISCOXTEXT-DISSIMULATIOX— DIYIXITY. 



a certain greatness of mind, min- 
gled with a noble simplicity, that 
raises him above those of the 
same condition. It is hardly pos- 
sible it should be otherwise, for 
the fervors of a pious mind will 
naturally contract such an earnest- 
ness and attention toward a better 
being as will make the ordinary 
passages of life go off with a 
becoming indifference. By this a 
man in the lowest condition will 
not appear mean, or in the most 
splendid fortune insolent. — Johx- 
sox. 

All the duties of religion are 
eminently solemn and venerable 
in the eyes of children. But none 
will so strongly prove the sincerity 
of the parent, none so powerfully 
awaken the reverence of the child, 
none so happily recommend the 
instruction he receives, as family 
devotions, particularly those in 
which petitions for the children 
occupy a distinguished place. — 

D WIGHT. 



SouE discontent that quarrels with 
our fate, 

May give fresh smart, but not the 
old abate ; 

The uneasy passions' disingenuous 
wit 

The ill reveals, but hides the ben- 
efit. Sir E. Blackmoee. 



It is no small fault to be bad, 
and seem so ; it is a greater fault 
to seem good and not be so. The 
cloak of dissimulation is a main 
part of the garment spotted with 
the flesh ; a vice thus covered is 
worse than a naked offense. There 
is no devil to the hypocrite. — 
Waewick. 

Dissimulation is but a faint 
kind of policy or wisdom, for it 
asketh a strong wit and a strong 
heart to know when to tell the 
truth and to do it : therefore it is 
the weaker sort of politicians that 
are the greatest dissemblers. — 
LoED Bacox. 



Theee is nothing more easy 
than to say divinity by rote, and 
to discourse of spiritual matters 
from the tongue or pen of others ; 
but to hear God speak it to the 
soul, and to feel the power of 
religion in ourselves, and to ex- 
press it out of the truth of experi- 
ence within, is both rare and hard. 
All that we feel not in the matters 
of God is but hypocrisy, and 
therefore the more we profess the 
more we sin. It will never be 
well with me till in these greatest 
things I be careless of others' cen- 
sures, fearful only of God's and my 
own, till sound experience have 
really catechised my heart, and 



82 



DIVIXITY — DOIXG GOOD. 



made me know God and my Saviour 
otherwise than by words. I will 
never be quiet till I can see and 
feel and taste God. My hearing 
I will account as only serving to 
eifect tliis, and my speech only to 
express it. — Hall. 

One of the disorders that I have 
lately had has proved the health 
of my soul, and I can truly say 
that I have learned more of true 
divinity during this confinement 
than I have during the whole 
course of my life before. — Beza. 

Of all sciences, that of divin- 
ity is the most sublime, the most 
profound, and the most compre- 
hensive. The study of divinity 
demands the brightest parts, the 
strongest powers, and the most 
capacious mind. The angels de- 
sire to look into these things ; and 
here they may look, and study, 
and pry forever, and still see 
more and more to admire, and 
love, and praise. — 0. Thompson. 

The divinity of our Lord Jesus 
Christ is the most important 
article of Christianity. It is, 
if I may so speak, the staple truth 
of our Bible, and the great founda- 
tion which supports the whole 
structure of our holy religion ; it 
is the root which nourishes all the 
doctrines of Scripture, and all the 
hopes of a Christian. Take this 
away and the whole institution of 
Christianity falls at once. When 
Samson tore away the supporting 



pillars the whole roof fell in, and 
the whole house became a ruinous 
heap. Just so will it fare with the 
Christian religion if this grand- 
main article be struck away ; but 
when his supreme divinity is 
believed, then it stamps a grand- 
eur upon his person and example, 
it puts an infinite value upon his 
atonement and righteousness, and 
a glorious perfection upon all that 
he did and said. — Heevey. 



The idea of right living seems 
to be, with some men, not do- 
ing anything wrong, as if righte- 
ousness consisted in negatives. 
"Why," says the man charged 
with being a sinner worthy of 
death, "why, I never hurt any- 
body in my life ; I never commit- 
ted a sin in my life, that is, you 
know, a real sin. You don't 
mean that I should be shut out of 
heaven were I now to die." — H. 
W. Beeoher. 

Live not for selfish aims. Live 
to shed joy on others. Thus best 
shall your own happiness be 
secured ; for no joy is ever given 
freely forth that does not have 
quick echo in the giver's own 
heart. — H. W. Beeoher. 

TnosE persons who do most 
good are least conscious of it. 
The man who has but a single 
virtue or charity is very much 



DRUIs^KEXNESS — DUT Y. 



83 



like the lien tliat has hut one 
chicken. That solitary chicken 
calls forth an amount of clucking 
and scratching that a whole brood 
seldom causes. — H. W. Beechee. 



"Whex a man drinks hard the 
blood boils over and the pas- 
sions sin and grow mutinous. In 
such a dangerous juncture the 
guards should be doubled, and 
twice as much sense summoned 
in as would serve for an ordinary 
occasion. Now, to part with 
one's reason when we have need 
of as much more, if we could get 
it, is like breaking the compass 
and throwing the pilot overboard 
in a storm. — Collier. 

Deunxekn'ess is a flattering 
devil, a sweet poison, a pleasant 
sin, which, whosoever hath, hath 
not himself; which, whosoever 
doth commit, doth not commit 
sin, but he himself is wholly sin. 
— St. Augustine. 

He that gives himself to wine 
is not his own. What shall we 
think of this vice, which robs a 
man of himself and lays a beast 
in his room ? — Bishop Hall. 

Beware of drunkenness, lest all 
good men beware of thee. Where 
drunkenness reigns there reason is 
an exile, virtue a stranger, God an 
enemy, blasphemy is wit, oaths 



are rhetoric, and secrets are proc- 
lamations. — QUARLES. 

Of all vices take heed of drunk- 
enness. Other vices are but fruits 
of disordered affections ; this dis- 
orders, nay, banishes reason. Other 
vices but impair the soul ; this de- 
molishes her two chief faculties, the 
understanding and the will. Other 
vices make their own way, this 
makes way for all vices. He that 
is a drunkard is qualified for all 

vice. QuARLES. 

All excess is ill, but drunkenness 
is of the worst sort. It spoils 
health, dismounts the mind, and 
unmans men. It reveals secrets, 
is quarrelsome, lascivious, impu- 
dent, dangerous, and mad. He 
that is drunk is not a man, because 
he is for so long void of reason 
that distinguishes a man from a 
beast. — William Penx. 

Some of the domestic evils of 
drunkenness are houses without 
windows, gardens without fences, 
fields without tillage, barns with- 
out roofs, children without cloth- 
ing, principles, morals, or manners. 
— ^Franklin. 



gutff. 



My morning haunts are where 
they should be, at home ; not 
sleeping, or concocting the surfeits 
of an irregular feast, but up and 
stirring: in winter, often ere the 



84 



DUTY — EARNESTNESS. 



sound of any bell awakes men to 
labor or to devotion ; in summer, 
as oft with the bird that first rises, 
or not much tardier, to read good 
authors, or cause them to be read, 
till the attention be weary or 
memory have its full freight ; then 
with useful and generous labors 
preserving the body's health and 
hardiness, to render lightsome, 
clear, and not dumpish obedience 
to the mind, to the cause of relig- 
ion and our country's liberty. — 

MiLTOX. 

Take up all duties in point of 
performance, but lay them down 
in point of dependence. Duty can 
never have too much of our dili- 
gence nor too little of our confi- 
dence. — Dtee. 

Ix the modesty of fearful duty, 
I read as much as from the rat- 
tling tongue 
Of saucy and audacious eloquence. 
Shakspeaee. 

It is a matter of course that he 
who would sin must first fail in 
his duty. — Ciceeo. 

Duties are ours, events are the 
Lord's. When we go to meddle 
with events, and to hold a court, 
as it were, upon God's providence, 
and to ask him, " Why hast thou 
done this? and how wilt thou do 
that?" faith then begins to lose 
ground; we have nothing to do 
there. It is our part to follow prov- 
idence closely, never to go before 



it, and not to stay lung after it; 
and if what we thus pursue should 
miscarry, it will neither be our 
sin nor our cross. — Kutheefoed. 

WnATEVEE our place, allotted 
to us by Providence, that for us 
is the post of honor and duty. 
God estimates us not by the posi- 
tion we are in, but by the way in 
which we fill it. — Edwaeds. 

The dutiful always have a good 
conscience and a smiling God to 
comfort them in tribulation. 



Because I am in earnest men 
call me an enthusiast, but I am 
not ; mine are the words of truth 
and soberness. When I first went 
into Gloucestershire, and was 
walking on a hill, I saw a gravel- 
pit fall in and bury three human 
beings alive. I lifted up my voice 
for help so loud that I was heard 
in the town below, at a distance 
of a mile. Help came, and rescued 
two of the poor sufferers. No one 
called me an enthusiast then; and 
when I see eternal destruction 
ready to fall npon poor sinners, 
and about to entomb them irre- 
coverably in an eternal mass of woe, 
and call aloud on them to escape, 
shall I be called an enthusiast 
now? No, sinner, I am not an 
enthusiast in so doing; I call on 
thee aloud to flee for refuge to the 



EAPvXESTXESS — ECONOMY — EDUCATION 



85 



hope set before thee in the Gospel 
of Christ Jesus, — R. Hill. 

We should always be in earnest 
because our work is great, and 
life short and decisive. Therefore, 
" Whatsoever thy hand findeth to 
do, do it with thy might." 



^tonoran. 

EcoxoMT is the parent of integ- 
rity, of hberty, and of ease; and 
the beauteous sister of temperance, 
of cheerfulness, and health. And 
profaseness is a cruel and crafty 
demon, that gradually involves her 
followers in dependence and debts ; 
that is, fetters them with "irons 
that enter into their souls." — Ad- 

VEXTUEEE. 

Take care to be an economist 
in prosperity ; there is no fear of 
your not being one in adversity. 

ZliOIEEMAXX. 

If you would have a faithful 
servant, and one that you like, 
serve yourself. — Feaxklix. 

A souxD economy is a sound 
understanding brought into ac- 
tion. It is calculation realized; 
it is the doctrine of proportion 
reduced to practice ; it is foresee- 
ing contingencies, and providing 
against them ; it is expecting con- 
tingencies, and being prepared for 
them. 



Educatiox begins the gentle- 
man, but reading, good company, 
and reflection must finish him. — 
Locke. 

The aim of education should 
be to teach us rather how to think 
than what to think ; rather to im- 
prove our minds, so as to enable 
us to think for ourselves, than to 
load our memory with the thoughts 
of other men. — Beattie. 

Educatiox of youth is not a 
bow for every man to shoot in 
that counts himself a teacher, but 
wiU require sinews almost equal 
to those which Homer gave to 
Ulysses. — Miltox. 

The education of children should 
not be forced, like the growth of 
plants in the hot-house. The 
more haste in this matter, the less 
speed in the end. It is from too 
early forcing the intellect, from 
premature, precocious, mental 
growth, that we see in modern 
times so many cases of wilted, and 
feeble, and sickly children; or of 
remarkable, wonderful children, 
who grow up to be prodigies by 
their second or third year, and 
die by the next. — Edwaeds. 

Costly apparatus and splendid 
cabinets have no magical power to 
make scholars. In all circum- 
stances, as a man is, under God, 
the master of his own fortune, so 



86 



KOrCATIOX. 



is he tlie maker of his own mind. 
The Creator has so constituted the 
human intellect that it can only 
grow by its own action; and by 
its own action and free will it will 
certainly and necessarily grow. 
Every man must therefore edu- 
cate himself. His book and teach- 
er are but helps ; the work is his, 
xV man is not educated until he 
has the ability to summon, in an 
emergency, all his mental powers 
in vigorous exercise to effect its 
proposed object. It is not the 
man who has seen most or read 
most who can do this ; such a one 
is in danger of being borne down, 
like a beast of burden, by an 
overloaded mass of other men's 
thoughts. Nor is it the man who 
can boast of native vigor and ca- 
pacity. The greatest of all war- 
riors in the siege of Troy had not 
the pre-eminence because nature 
had given strength and he carried 
the largest bow, but because self- 
discipline had taught him hovr to 
bend it. — Daxiel Webster. 

"We all have two educations, 
one of which we receive from 
others, and another, and the 
most valuable, which we give our- 
selves. It is this last which fixes 
our grade in society, and eventu- 
ally our actual condition in this 
life, and the color of our fate 
hereafter. All the professors and 
teachers in the world would not 
make you a wise or good man 
without your own co-operation ; 
and if such you are determined 



to be, the want of them will not 
prevail. — Jonx Randolph to nis 
Nephew. 

Under whose care soever a child 
is put to be taught during the ten- 
der and flexible years of his life, 
this is certain, it should be one 
who thinks Latin and languages 
the least part of education; one 
who, knowing how much virtue 
and a weU-tempered soul is to be 
preferred to any sort of learning 
or language, makes it his chief 
business to form the mind of his 
scholars, and give that a right 
disposition; which, if once got, 
though all the rest should be neg- 
lected, would in due time produce 
all the rest ; and which, if it be 
not got, and settled so as to keep 
out ill and vicious habits, lan- 
guages and sciences, and all the 
other accomplishments of educa- 
tion will be to no purpose, but to 
make the worse or more dangerous 
man. — Locee. 

The education of our children is 
never out of my mind. Train 
them to virtue, habituate them 
to industry, activity, and spirit. 
Make them consider every vice as 
shameful and unmanly. Fire them 
with ambition to be useful. Make 
them disdain to be destitute of any 
useful knowledge. — John Adams 
TO HIS Wife. 

Mr. Locke, in his celebrated 
treatise on education, confesses 
that there are inconveniences to 



EDUCATION— EGOTISM— ELOQUEXCE. 



87 



be feared on both sides. "If," 
says he, " I keep my son at home, 
he is m danger of becoming my 
young master ; if I send him abroad, 
it is scarcely possible to keep him 
from rudeness and vice. He will 
perhaps be more innocent at home, 
but more ignorant of the -world, 
and more sheepish when he comes 
abroad 1" 

Knowledge alone is not suflB- 
cient. It is, indeed, power; but 
if undirected by virtue, knowledge 
is but the servant of vice, and 
tends only to evil, 

^HAT sculpture is to a block of 
marble, education is to the human 
soul. The philosopher^ the splint, 
the hero, the -wise and the good, 
or the great, very often lie hid and 
concealed in a plebeian, which a 
proper education might have dis- 
interred and brought to light. — 
Addison. 

Educate men without religion, 
and you make them but clever 
devils. — Puke of "Wellington. 

If a man empties his pm^se into 
his head, no man can take it away 
from him. An investment in 
knowledge always pays the best 
interest. — Feanklin. 



^ptii 



Many esteem nothing right but 
what pleases themselves. — Hoe- 
ace. 



Egotism is more like an offense 
than a crime, though 'tis allowa- 
ble to speak of yourself, provided 
nothing is advanced in favor ; but 
I cannot help suspecting that those 
who abuse themselves are, in real- 
ity, angling for approbation. — Zm- 

MEEMANN. 

Theee is not one wise man 
among twenty that will praise 
himself. — Shakspeaee. 



TsjTE eloquence I find to be 
none but the serious and hearty 
love of truth, with a fervent 
desire to know good things, 
and with the dearest charity to 
infuse the knowledge of them 
into others. When such a man 
would speak, his words^ lik© so 
many nimble and airy servitoi*s, 
trip about him at command, and 
in well-ordered files, as he would 
wish, fall aptly into their own 
places. — Milton. 

Tetie eloquence consists in say- 
ing all that is necessary, and 
nothing but what is necessary. — 

La KoCHEFOrCAULD. 

Teue eloquence, indeed, does 
not consist in speech. It cannot 
be brought from far. Labor and 
learning may toil for it, but they 
will toil in vain. Words and 
phrases may be mai-shaled in 



ELOQUENCE — EMIXEXCE — EMPLOYMENT. 



eveiy way, but tliev cannot com- 
pass it. It must exist in the man, 
in the subject, and in the occasion. 
Affected passion, intense expres- 
sion, the pomp of declamation, all 
maj aspire after it — thev cannot 
reach it. It comes, if it come at 
all, like the outbreaking of a fount- 
ain from the earth, or the bursting 
forth of volcanic fires with spon- 
taneous, original, native force. 
The graces taught in the schools, 
the costly ornaments and the 
studied contrivances of speech 
shock and disgust men when their 
own lives, and the fate of their 
wives, their children, and their 
country hang on the decision of 
the hour. Then words have lost 
their power, rhetoric is vain, and 
all elaborate oratory contemptible. 
Even genius itself then feels 
rebuked and subdued, as in the 
presence of higher qualities. Then 
patriotism is eloquent, then self- 
devotion is eloquent. The clear 
conception outrunning the deduc- 
tion of logic, the high purpose, the 
firm resolve, the dauntless spirit 
speaking on the tongue, beaming 
from the eye, informing every 
feature, and urging the whole man 
onward, right onward to his ob- 
ject; this, this is eloquence, or 
rather it is something greater and 
higlier than all eloquence, it is 
action; noble, sublime, godlike 
action. — Daniel Webster. 

Maxy are ambitious of say- 
ing grand things, that is, of be- 
ing grandiloquent. Eloquence is 



speaking out — a quality few 
esteem and fewer aim at. — Haee. 

Let your eloquence flow from 
your heart to your hands, and not 
force it the other way. — De. 
Emmons. 

He has oratory who ravishes 
his hearers while he forgets him- 
self. — Lavatee. 

Geeat is the power of elo- 
quence ; but never is it so great 
as when it pleads along with na- 
ture, and the culprit is a child 
strayed from his duty, and re- 
turned to it again with tears. — 
Steene. 



€mmnxtL 

The road to eminence and 
power from obscure condition 
ought not to be made too easy, 
nor a thing too much of course. 
If rare merit be the rarest of all 
rare things, it ought to pass 
through some sort of probation. 
The temple of honor ought to be 
seated on an eminence. If it be 
open through virtue, let it be 
remembered too that virtue is 
never tried but by some difficulty 
and some struggle. — Bueke. 



Be busy about something, so 
that the devil may always find 
you occupied. — St. Jeeome. 



EAIPLO YMEXT — EMUL ATIOX — EXEMIES. 



89 



Employment is the great instru- 
ment of intellectual dominion. 
The mind cannot retire from its 
enemj into total vacancy, or turn 
aside from one object but by passing 
to another. The gloomy and the 
resentful are always found among 
those who have nothing to do, or 
who do nothing. We must be 
busy about good or evil, and 
he to whom the present offers 
nothing will often be looking 
backward on the past. 

Employment, which Galen calls 
"Nature's physician," is so essen- 
tial to human happiness, that indo- 
lence is justly considered as the 
mother of misery. — Bueton. 

Give your children useful em- 
ployment if you wish them to 
have character, respectability, or 
fortune. 



€mnMxan. 

Emulation is a handsome pas- 
sion; it is enterprising, but just 
withal ; it keeps a man within the 
terms of honor, and makes the 
contest for glory fair and gener- 
ous. He strives to excel, but it is 
by raising himself, not by depress- 
ing others. — Colliee. 

Emulation, encouraged and 
cherished on benevolent princi- 
ples, is most effectual without 
being prejudicial to virtue. 



Nothing will more try a man's 
grace than questions of emulation. 
— Hall. 



Emmies, 

TVe should never make enemies, 
if for no other reason, because it 
is so hard to behave toward them 
as we ought. — ^Palmee. 

Five great enemies to peace 
inhabit us, namely, avarice, ambi- 
tion, envy, anger, and pride ; and 
if those enemies were to be ban- 
ished, we should infallibly enjoy 
perpetual peace. — Peteaech. 

When an enemy reproaches us 
let us look on him as an impartial re- 
later of our faults, for he wiU tell 
thee truer than thy fondest friend 
will; and thou may est call them 
precious balms, though they break 
thy head, and forgive his anger 
while thou makest use of the 
plainness of his declamation. 
" The ox when he is weai-y treads 
surest," and if there be nothing 
else in the disgrace but that it 
makes us to walk warily and 
tread sure for fear of our enemies, 
that is better than to be flattered 
into pride and carelessness, — Jee- 
emy Tayloe. 

The best way to outwit an 
enemy is to return plain dealing 
for deceitful unrighteousness, and 
acts of kindness for injustice and 
cruelty. 



90 



ENEMIES — ENVY. 



He ^vlio iu every man wislies to 
meet a brother will very rarely 
eucounter an enemy. "When a 
man's ways please the Lord, he 
maketh even his enemies to be at 
peace with him." 



Entt, like a cold poison, be- 
numbs and stupefies, and thus, as 
if conscious of its own impotence, 
it folds its arms in despair and 
sits cursing in a corner. When it 
conquers it is commonly in the 
dark, by treachery and undermin- 
ing, by calumny and detraction. 
Envy is no less foolish than de- 
testable ; it is a vice which they 
say keeps no holiday, but is al- 
ways in the wheel, and working 
upon its own disquiet. — Jeremy 
Collier. 

That envy is most malignant 
which is most like Cain's, who 
en\'ied his brother because his 
sacrifice was better accepted, when 
there was nobody but God to look 
on. — Bacon. 

The truest mark of being born 
with great qualities is being born 
without envy. — La Rochefou- 
cauld. 

We often make a parade of pas- 
sions, even of the most criminal; 
but envy is a timid and shame- 
ful passion which we never dare 
avow. — La Rochefoucauld. 



ExvY, if surrounded on all sides 
by the brightness of another's 
prosperity, like the scorpion con- 
fined within a circle of fire, will 
sting itself to death. — Coltox. 

Take heed thou harbor not 
that vice called envy, lest another's 
happiness be thy torment, and 
G-od's blessing become thy curse. 
Virtue corrupted with vain glory 
turns pride; pride poisoned with 
mMice becomes envy. Join there- 
fore humility with thy virtue, and 
pride shall have no footing, and 
envy shall find no entrance. — 
Quarles. 

ExvY is more irreconcilable 
than hatred. — La Rochefou- 
cauld. 

Base envy withers at another's 

joy, 

And hates the excellence it cannot 
reach. Thomson. 

Envy is usually more quick- 
sighted than love. — Hall. 

Envy is the saw of the soul. — 
Socrates. 

Envy's memory is nothing but 
a row of hooks to hang up grudges 
on. Some people's sensibility is a 
mere bundle of aversions, and you 
hear them display and parade it, 
not in recounting the things they 
are attached to, but in telling you 
how many things and persons 
"they cannot bear." — John Fos- 
ter. ./ 



EXYY. 



91 



Exty's a vice that ne'er on high 

does bound, 
But. like a lurking viper, creeps on 

lowest ground. Oyid. 

ExvT is not merely a perverse- 
ness of temper, but it is such a 
distemper of the mind as disorders 
aU the faculties of it. It began 
with Satan, for when he fell he 
could see nothing to please him 
in Paradise, and envied our first 
parents when in innocence, and 
therefore tempted them to sin, 
which ruined them, and all the 
human race. Mr. Locke tells us 
that upon asking a blind man what 
he thought scarlet was, he an- 
swered he believed it was like the 
sound of a trumpet. He was 
forced to form his conceptions of 
ideas which he had not, bj those 
which he had. In the same man- 
ner, though an envious man can- 
not but see perfections, jet 
having contracted the distemper 
of acquired blindness, he will 
not own them, but is always 
degrading or misrepresenting 
things which are excellent. Thus, 
point out a pious person, and ask 
the envious man what he thinks 
of him, he will say he is a hypo- 
crite, or deceitful; praise a man 
of learning or of great abilities, 
and he will say he is a pedant, or 
proud of his attainments ; mention 
a beautiful woman, and he will 
either slander her chastity or 
charge her with affectation ; show 
liiin a fine poem or painting, and 
he will call the one " stifi-V' and 



the other a " daubing :" in this 
way he depreciates or deforms 
every pleasing object. "With re- 
spect to other vices, it is frequently 
seen that many confess and for- 
sake them; but this is not often 
the case with respect to this vice, 
for as the person afQicted with 
this evil know^s very weU to own 
that we envy a man is to allow 
him to be a superior, his pride 
win not therefore pennit him to 
make any concession, if accused 
of indulging this base principle, 
but he becomes more violent 
against the person envied, and 
generally remains incurable. — 
Tatlee. 

ExvY is a weed that grows in 
all soils and climates, and is no 
less luxuriant in the country than 
in the court, is not confined to 
any rank of men or extent of for- 
tune, but rages in the breasts of 
all degrees. Alexander was not 
prouder than Diogenes; and it 
may be if we would endeavor to 
surprise it in its most gaudy dress 
and attire, and in the exercise of 
its full empire and tyranny, we 
should find it in schoolmasters and 
scholars, or in some country lady, 
or the knight, her husband; all 
which ranks of people more de- 
spise their neighbors than all the 
degrees of honor in which courts 
abound; and it rages as much in 
a sordid, affected dress as in all the 
silks and embroideries which the 
excess of the age and the folly of 
vouth delight to be adorned with. 



EXVY — ETERXITY. 



Since, then, it keeps all sorts of 
company, an(J wriggles itself into 
the liking of the most contrary 
natures and dispositions, and yet 
carries so much poison and venom 
with it that it alienates the affec- 
tions from heaven, and raises 
rebellion against God himself, it is 
worth our utmost care to watch 
it in all its disguises and ap- 
proaches, that we may discover 
it in its first entrance, and 
dislodge it before it procures 
a shelter or retiring place to 
Iodide and conceal itself. — Clae- 



ExvT is termed in Latin livor, 
or paleness. This odious sensation 
is known to produce very often a 
livid and pale complexion in the 
person affected with it. Though 
the yellow and black bile may 
arise in the veins from other 
causes, yet when this detested 
passion is of sufficient force and 
duration to affect the current of 
the blood, the envious man's com- 
plexion will assume a livid hue. — 

CilEVEEAU. 

The praise of the envious is 
far less creditable than their 
censure : they praise tliat only 
which they can surpass, but that 
which surpasses them they cen- 
sure. 

Envy torments others, and robs 
one's self of the ha[)i)iness that lies 
in seeking and enjoying the good 
of our neighbor. ) 



How WILL all the present scenes 
change in another world! The 
epicure will pass from a bed of 
roses to a bed of flames; but the 
poor distressed and tried saint 
shall be translated from his prison 
and troubles into joys which are 
unspeakable, and glories which 
cannot be described. Be not dis- 
couraged, poor wearied pilgrim; 
hold on thy way; there awaits 
thee a crown of righteousness, and, 
what thou must be immortalized 
to bear, "an eternal weight of 
glory." — South. 

It is said of Virgil, when he 
was asked why he studied so much 
accuracy in the plan of his poem, 
the propriety of his characters, 
and the purity of his diction, he 
replied, " I am writing for eter- 
nity." What more weighty consid- 
eration to justify and enforce the 
utmost vigilance and circumspec- 
tion of life than this : " I am living 
for eternity." — Geeexe. 

Wren- I endeavor to represent 
eternity to myself, I avail myself 
of whatever I can conceive most 
long and durable. I heap imngin- 
ation on imagination, conjecture 
on conjecture. First, I consider 
those long lives which most wish^ 
and some attain ; I observe those 
old men who have lived four or 
live generations ; I do more, I turn 
to ancient chronicles; 1 go back to 
the patriai-chal age, and consider 



ETERXITY — EVIL. 



93 



life near a thousand years, and I 
say to myself, all this is not eter- 
nity. Having represented to my- 
self real objects, I form ideas of 
imaginary ones ; I go from our age 
to the time of publishing the Gos- 
pel, from thence to the publication 
of the law, and from thence to the 
creation; I join this epoch to the 
present time, and I imagine Adam 
yet living. All this is nothing in 
comparison of eternity ! I go 
further still: I take the greatest 
number of years that can be im- 
agined ; I add ages to ages, millions 
of ages to millions of ages ; I form 
of all these one fixed number, and 
I stay my imagination. After this 
I suppose God to create a world 
like this which we inhabit ; I sup- 
pose him creating it by forming 
one atom after another, and em- 
ploying in the production of each 
atom the time fixed in my calcu- 
lation. "What numberless ages 
would the creation of such a world 
in such a manner require! Then 
I suppose the Creator to arrange 
these atoms, and to pursue the 
same plan of arranging them as of 
creating them. What numberless 
ages Avould such an arrangement 
require! Finally, I suppose him 
to dissolve and annihilate the 
whole, and observe the same 
method in this dissolution as he 
did in the creation and disposition 
of the whole. "What an immense 
duration would be consumed ! Yet 
this is not eternity ; all this is only 
a point in comparison of eternity. 
— Saueix. 



Eterxity! thou pleasing, dread- 
ful thought! 

Through what variety of untried 
being, 

Through what new scenes and 
changes must we pass ? 

The wide, the unbounded prospect 
lies before me ; 

But shadows, clouds, and darkness 
rest upon it. Addison. 

He that will often put eternity 
and the world before him, and 
who will dare to look steadfastly 
at both of them, will find that the 
more often he contemplates them, 
the former will grow greater and 
the latter less. — Colton. 

The most momentous concern 
of man is the state he shall enter 
upon after this short and transi- 
tory life is ended ; and in propor- 
tion as eternity is of greater 
importance than time, so ought 
men to be solicitous upon what 
grounds their expectations with 
regard to that durable state are 
built, and on what assurances their 
hopes or their fears stand. — S. 
Claeke. 



€bxl 

Eeadixess to believe evil Avith- 
out suflicient examination is the 
result of pride and indolence. "We 
wish to find people guilty, and we 
do not wish to give ourselves the 
trouble of examining into their 
crimes. — La Eochefotjcauld. 



94 



EVIL — EXAMPLE. 



By tlie very constitution of our 
nature, moral evil is its own curse. 
— Chalmers. 

To THOSE persons wlio have 
vomited out of their souls all rem- 
nants of goodness, there rests a 
certain pride in evil; and having 
else no shadow of glory left them, 
they glory to be constant in in- 
iquity, — Sir p. Sids'ey. 

Maxy have puzzled themselves 
about the origin of evil. I am 
content to observe that there is 
evil, and that there is a way to 
escape from it; and with this I 
begin and end. — Newton. 



The well-directed efforts of a 
good man, even in the private 
walks of life, may produce results 
hardly to be calculated. His con- 
duct throughout the successive en- 
gagements of the day may operate 
powerfully on the different mem- 
bers of his family, and even upon 
his friends who frequent the house. 

Whatever parent gives his chil- 
dren good instruction, and sets them 
at the same time a bad example, 
may be considered as bringing 
them food in one hand and poison 
in tlie other. — Balguy. 

Every man, in whatever sta- 
tion, has, or endeavors to liave, 



his followers, admirers, and imita- 
tors, and has therefore the influ- 
ence of his example to watch with 
care. He ought to avoid not only 
crimes, but the appearance of 
crimes; and not only to practice 
virtue, but to applaud, counte- 
nance, and support it; for it is 
possible, for want of attention, we 
may teach others faults from vrhich 
ourselves are free; or by a cow- 
ardly desertion of a cause, which 
we ourselves approve, may per- 
vert those w^io fix their eyes upon 
us, and having no rule of their 
own to guide their course, are 
easily misled by the aberrations 
of that example which they choose 
for their directions. — Johxsox. 

OxE w^atch, set right, will do to 
try many by; but, on the other 
hand, one that goes wrong may be 
the means of misleading a whole 
neighborhood. And the same may 
be said of the example we individ- 
ually set to those around us. 

We laugh heartily to see a whole 
flock of sheep jump because one 
did so. Might not one imagine 
that sup6rior beings do the same 
by us, and for exactly the same 
reason ? — Greville, 

Be a pattern to others, and then 
all will go well; for as a whole 
city is infected by the licentious 
passions and vices of great men, 
so it is likewise reformed by their 
moderation. — Cicero. 



EXPECTATION — EXPErJEXCE —EYE. 



95 



Expectation, when once lier 
wings are expanded, easily reaches 
heights which performance never 
will attain ; and when she has 
mounted the summit of perfection , 
derides her follower, who dies in 
the pursuit. — Johxsox. j 

It should be an indispensable 
rule in life to contract our desires 
to our present condition, and what- 
ever may be our expectations, to 
live within the compass of what 
we actually possess. It will be 
time enough to enjoy an estate 
when it comes into our hands; 
but if we anticipate our good for- 
tune we shall lose the pleasure of 
it when it arrives, and may possi- 
bly never possess what we have 
so foolishly counted on. — Addisox. 

"^E part more easily with what 
we possess than with the expecta- 
tion of what we wish for; and the 
reason of it is, that what we ex- 
pect is always greater than what 
we enjoy. — The TToeld. 



may give advice, but we cannot 
give conduct. However, they that 
will not be counseled cannot be 
helped ; and if you will not hear 
reason, she will surely rap your 
knuckles. — Feaxklix. 

!N"o MAX was ever so completely 
skilled in the conduct of life as not 
to receive new information from 
age and experience. — Tekexce. 

ExPEEiEXCE often charges high 
for her lessons, but they are inval- 
uable. — O. TnoMPSox'. 



To most men experience is like 
the stern-lights of a ship, which 
illumine only the track it has 
passed. — Coleeidge. 

ExPEEiEX^CE keeps a dear school ; 
but fools will learn in no other, and 
scarce in that ; for it is true we 



It was an old saying, "The soul 
dwells in the eyes;" because all 
the passions, as anger, love, envy, 
etc., are much seen there. 

The eye is the mirror of the 
heart. 

That fine part of our constitu- 
tion, the eye, seems as much the 
receptacle and seat of our passions, 
appetites, and inclinations as the 
mind itself; and at least it is the 
outward portal to introduce them 
to the house within, or rather the 
common thoroughfare to let our 
affections pass in and out. Love, 
anger, pride, and avarice, all visi- 
bly move in those little orbs.— 
Spectatoe. 

The human eye has five tunics 
to guard it against danger: the 
first is like a spider's web, the 



96 



EYE — FAITH. 



second like a net, tlie third like a 
berry, the fourth like a horn, and 
the fifth is the cover or lid of the 
eye. These resemble the various 
ways which Providence takes to 
preserve our souls and bodies. — 
Flavel. 

The natural eye is a most 
delicate organ. Overworked, it 
avenges itself by pains and penal- 
ties. Prize and protect your eyes 
alway. Eead no trash. Execrate 
fine print. Trespass not upon the 
hours of repose in working the 
eye, for its loss is irreparable. Let 
youth take advice from age, and 
so use their organs as not to abuse 
them. 



Believest thou? then thou wilt 
speak boldly. Speakest thou 
boldly? then thou must suffer. 
Sufierest thou ? then thou shalt be 
comforted. For faith, the confes- 
sion thereof, and the cross, follow 
one upon another. — Ltjthee. 

Heavex shall want power, and 
earth means, before any of the 
household of faith shall want 
maintenance. — Hall. 

Faith is an undaunted grace; 
it hath a strong heart and a bold 
forehead : even denials cannot dis- 
may it, much less delays. — Hall. 

As FAITH is the evidence of 

things not seen, so thiugs that are 



seen are the perfecting of faith. I 
believe a tree will be green when 
I see it leafless in winter; I 
know it is green when I see it 
flourishing in summer. It was a 
fault in Thomas not to believe till 
he did see : it were a madness in 
him not to believe when he did 
see. Belief may sometimes exceed 
reason, not oppose it ; and faith 
be often above sense, not against 
it. Thus while faith doth assure 
me that I eat Christ eff"ectually, 
sense must assure me that I taste 
bread really. For though I often- 
times see not those things that I 
believe, yet I must still believe 
those things that I see. — Wae- 



Flattee not thyself in thy faith 
to God, if thou wantest charity for 
thy neighbor ; and think not thou 
hast charity for thy neighbor if 
thou wantest faith to God. When 
they are not both together they 
are both wanting; they are both 
dead if once divided. — Quaeles. 

Faith lights us through the dark 

to Deity ; 
Faith builds a bridge across the 

gulf of death 
To break the shock that nature 

cannot shun, 
And lands thought smoothly on 

the further shore. 

Yoxn^G. 

The Church of Christ is founded 
in faith, raised by hope, and fin- 
ished by love. — St. Austin. 



FAITH. 



97 



Faith changes the nature of the 
elements, and forces them to sub- 
mit to the faithful. Let not there- 
fore the view of the most cruel 
punishments terrify us, for Tve 
need not fear any pain, since 
martyrs live in flames, and their 
life seems to insult the fire that 
was designed to consume them. — 
St. Zexon of Yeeoxa. 

Do VIOLENCE to God ; seize the 
kingdom of heaven. He that for- 
bids us to touch another's goods 
rejoices to have his own invaded ; 
he that condemns the violence of 
avarice praises that of faith. — St. 
Pauli:n'. 

In a perfect faith there is no 
fear. By how much more Ave fear, 
by so much less we believe. — 
Hall. 

Faith and works are as neces- 
sary to our spiritual life as Chris- 
tians, as soul and body are to our 
life as men ; for faith is the soul 
of rehgion, and works, the body. 
— Oolton. 

A Capuchin says, ""Wear a gray 
coat and a hood, a rope round thy 
body, and sandals on thy feet." 
A cordelier says, "Put on a black 
hood ;" and an ordinary papist 
says, "Do this or that work, hear 
mass, pray, fast, give alms," etc. 
But a true Christian says, " I am 
justified and saved only by faith 
in Christ, without any works or 
merits of my own. Compare 



these together, and judge which 
is the true righteousness. — Luthee. 

God saith to each of his people, 
"I am thy salvation;" the soul 
then saith, " Thou art my God." 
Faith is, as it were, a spiritual 
echo returning that voice back 
again which God first speaks to 
the soul. — Dk. SiBs. 

Faith is not subject to error ; it 
does not know what it is to be 
deceived. Blind as it is, it per- 
ceives; it knows what it cannot 
see; it goes even beyond the 
bounds of human reason; it goes 
further than nature and experi- 
ence, by knowing what the one 
cannot do, and what the other 
cannot teach. — St. Beenaed. 

Faith is the hand wherewith 
we take everlasting life. — Lati- 

MEE. 

If thy faith have no doubts, 
thon hast just cause to doubt thy 
faith ; and if thy doubts have no 
hope, thou hast just reason to fear 
despair. When, therefore, thy 
doubts shall exercise thy faith, 
keep thy hopes firm to qualify thy 
doubts. So shall thy faith be 
secured from doubts, so shaU thy 
doubts be preserved from despair. 

— QUAELES. 

They are but infidel-Christians 
whose faith and works are at war 
against each other. Faith which 
is right can no more forbear from 



98 



FAITH. 



good works tliaii can tlie sun to 
shed abroad its glorious beams, or 
a body of perfumes to dispense a 
grateful odor. — Feltiiam. 

St. Maximi's says upon the good 
thief that faith makes thieves 
innocent, and infidelity makes 
apostles criminal. This is a great, a 
wonderful faith, which believed 
that Jesus Christ upon the cross 
was more glorified than punished. 

It was a brave attempt! advent'- 

rous he 
Who in the first ship broke the 

unknown sea, 
And leavmg his dear native shores 

behind, 
Trusted his life to the licentious 

wind. 
I see the surging brine, the tem- 
pest raves, 
He on a pine plank rides across the 

weaves, 
Exulting on the edge of thousand 

gaping graves; 
He steers the winged boat, and 

shifts the sails. 
Conquers the flood and manages 

the gales. 
Such is the soul that leaves this 

mortal land. 
Fearless when the great Master 

gives command ; 
Death is the storm, she smiles to 

hear it roar, 
And bids the tempest waft her to 

the shore ; 
Then with a skillful hand she 

sweeps the seas, 
And manages the raging storm 

with case ; 



(" Her faith can govern death,") sho 

spreads her wings 
Wide to the wind, and as she sails 

she sings, 
And loses by degrees the sight of 

mortal things. 
As the shores lessen, so her joys 

arise. 
The waves roll gentler, and the 

tempest dies. 
Now vast eternity fills all her 



She floats on the broad deep with 

infinite delight, 
The seas forever calm, the skies 

forever bright ! 

De. "Watts. 

Faith is not only a means of 
obeying, but a principal act of 
obedience. It is not only a need- 
ful foundation, not only an altar 
on which to sacrifice, but it is a 
sacrifice itself, and perhaps of all 
the greatest. It is a submission 
of our nnderstandings ; an obla- 
tion of our idolized reason to God, 
which he requires so indispensably 
that our Avhole will and aftections, 
though seemingly a larger sacri- 
fice, will not without it be received 
at his hands. — Yotj]S'g. 

Faith can discover the sun of 
righteousness sometimes through 
the darkest clouds, and when it 
cannot lay hold on a promise, it 
may fasten on an attribute of our 
covenant God. God's promises 
are the life of faith, and faith gives 
life to the promises ; and if nothing 
is too hard for God, nothing (that 



FAITH— FAME. 



99 



is promised) is too liigli for faith. 
— De. Aeeowsmith. 

Faith is a certain image of 
eternity. All things are present 
to it; things past, and things to 
come. Faith converses with an- 
gels, and antedates the hymns of 
glory. Every man that hath this 
grace is as certain there are glo- 
ries for him, if he perseveres in 
duty, as if he had heard and snng 
the blessed thanksgiving song 
for the blessed sentence of dooms- 
day. — Jeeemy Tatloe. 



^mat 



]^0E is the desire of fame so 
vain as divers have rigidly imag- 
ined ; fame being, when belonging 
to the living, that which is more 
gravely called a steady and neces- 
sary reputation; and without it 
hereditary power or acquired 
greatness can never quietly gov- 
ern the world. 'Tis of the dead a 
musical glory, in which God, the 
author of excellent goodness, 
vouchsafes to take a continual 
share; for the remembered vir- 
tues of great men are chiefly such 
of his works (mentioned by King 
David) as perpetually praise him. 
And the good fame of the dead 
prevails by example much more 
tlian the reputation of the living, 
because the latter is always sus- 
pected by our envy, but the other 
is cheerfully allowed and religious- 
ly admired : for admiration, whose 



eyes are ever weak, stands still, 
and fixes its gaze upon great things 
acted far off; but, when they are 
near, walks slightly away as from 
familiar objects. Fame is to our 
sons a solid inheritance, and not 
unuseful to remote posterity ; and 
to our reason 'tis the first, though 
but a little, taste of eternity. — 
Datexaxt. 

What so foolish as the chase of 
fame ? 

How vain the prize! how impo- 
tent our aim ! 

For what are men who grasp at 
praise sublime 

But bubbles on the rapid stream 
of time ; 

That rise and fall, that swell and 
are no more, 

Born, and forgot, ten thousand in 
an hour. Youxo. 

The drying up a single tear has 

more 
Of honest fame than shedding seas 

of gore. Byeox. 

Or present fame think little, and 
of future less. The praises that 
we receive after we are buried, 
like the posies that are strewed 
over our grave, may be gratifying 
to the living, but they are nothing 
to the dead. The dead are gone 
either to a place where they hear 
them not, or where, if they do, 
they will despise them. — ^Coltox. 

Theee is not in the world so 
toilsome a trade as the pursuit of 



100 



FAME — FASlllOX — FAULTS — FEAR. 



fame. Life concludes before you 
have so much as sketched your 
work, — Beuyeee. 

The way to fame is like the 
way to heaven — through much 
tribulation. — Steene. 



FAsniox is, for the most part, 
nothing but the ostentation of 
riches. — Locke. 



Il^Ew customs, though they be 
never so ridiculous, nay, let them 
be unmanly, yet are followed. — 
Shakspeaee. 

Fashion wears out more apparel 
than the man. — Shakspeaee. 



Jfaulte. 



We have few faults which are 
not more excusable than the means 
we take to conceal them. — La 
Rochefoucauld. 

If we had no faults ourselves, 
we should not take so much pleas- 
ure in remarking them in others. 
— La Rochefoucauld. 

We easily forget our faults when 
tliey are only known to ourselves. 
— La Rochefoucauld. 

It is not so much the being ex- 
empt from faults, as the having 



overcome thum, that is an advant- 
age to us; it being with the follies 
of the mind as with the weeds of 
a field, which, if destroyed and 
consumed upon the place of their 
birth, enrich and improve it more 
than if none had ever sprung there. 
— Pope. 



Jfti 



If thou desire to be truly val- 
iant, fear to do any injury. He 
that fears not to do evil is al- 
ways afraid to suffer evil ; he tliat 
never fears is desperate; and he 
that fears always is a coward. 
He is the true valiant man that 
dares nothing but what he may, 
and fears nothing but what he 
ought. — Quaeles. 

You should not fear, nor yet 
should you wish for your last day. 
— ^Maetial. 

Feae is implanted in us as a 
preservative from evil; but its 
duty, like that of other passions, 
is not to overbear reason, but to 
assist it. Nor should it be suffered 
to tyrannize in the imagination, to 
raise phantoms of liorror, or beset 
life with supernumerary distresses. 
— Jonxsox. 

If evils come not, then our fears 

. are vain. 
And if they do, fear but augments 
the pain. Sie T. Mooee. 

Feae has a strong memory. 



FEAR — FEELIN^GS — FELICITY. 



101 



We have never so much cause 
to fear as when we fear nothing. 
— Hall. 

Fear on guilt attends, and deeds 

of darkness ; 
The virtuous breast ne'er knows 

it. Hazard. 

Fear is a slavish passion of the 

soul, 
Which like a tyrant would our 

bliss control ; 
Invading fears repel our real joys, 
And ills foreseen the present bliss 

destroys. 

Those who fear where no fear 
is are cowards. But those T^^-ho 
fear real dangers enough to, avoid 
and escape them are heroes. 



A RELIGION without feeling is 
no religion. How can we have 
I'epentance without feeling sorrow 
for sin, and indignation against it ? 
How can we have faith in the 
Lord Jesus,, and behold that in- 
finite fullness of grace treasured up 
in him for us, without rejoicing in 
him, while we believe with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory. — 
R. Hill. 

I HAVE heard some people speak 
against feeling in religion, and 
when we talk about it they call 
us enthusiasts ; but I think we 
may safely call them so. Feel- 



ings! why, I shall never go from 
one side of a street to another if I 
have not feeling. I shall never 
move my hand or my head if I 
have not feeling. It is absurd to 
talk against feelings. Man is not 
a stock nor a stone ; he must feel. 
Show me a man without feelings, 
and I wonder what sort of a crea- 
ture he will be ! Well, then, what 
shall I do with my feelings ? Why, 
have God's law written upon them. 
I shall then have the wisdom of 
holiness, the holy love of God, and 
the influences of his Holy Spirit 
within me. 

'No UA'N has a right to disturb 
the comfortable feelings, even of 
a beast, unnecessarily, much less 
wantonly. 



If men knew what felicity dwells 
in t^he cottage of a virtuous man, 
bow sound he sleeps, how quiet 
his rest, how composed his mind, 
how free from care, how easy his 
position, how moist his mouth, 
how joyful his heart, they would 
never admire the noises, the dis- 
eases, the throngs of passions, and 
the violence of unnatural appetites 
that fill the house of the luxurious 
and the heart of the ambitious. — 
Bishop Taylor. 

Felicity, pure and unalloyed 
felicity, is not a plant of earthly 
growth; her gardens are the skies» 
— Burton. 



102 



FLATTEItY — FOLLY — FORGIVEXESS. 



If we did not flatter ourselves, 
the flattery of others would be 
very harmless. — La Rochefou- 
cauld. 

Flattery is a sort of bad money 
to which our vanity gives curren- 
cy.— -Locke. 

Flatteet is often a traffic of 
mutual meanness, where, although 
both parties intend deception, nei- 
ther are deceived. — Colton. 

It hath been well said that the 
arch flatterer, with whom aU the 
petty flatterers have intelligence, 
is a man's self. — Bagox. 

As the sunflower is always 
turning itself according to the 
course of the sun, but shuts and 
closes up its leaves as soon as that 
great luminary has forsaken the 
horizon, so the flatterer is always 
fawning upon the prosperous, till 
their fortune begins to frown upon 
them, and then, as some £:inds of 
vermin desert foiling houses, so 
flatterers then desert them. ^ 
Waxley. 

The heai't has no avenue so open 
as that of flattery, which, like some 
enchantment, lays all its guards 
asleep. lie that reviles me may 
perhaps call me a fool; but he 
that flatters me, if I take not great 
heed, will make me one. The 
only coin tliat is most current 
among mankind is flattery, the 



only benefit of which is, tliat 
by hearing what we are not, we 
may learn what we ought to be. — 
Steetch. 

Fools drink in flatteiy as a 
thirsty man drinks water, and put 
it to the credit of the flatterer. 
Wise men lay it aside, or put it 
to his account. 

It is better to fall among crows 
than among flatterers. Those only 
devour the dead, these the living. 
— Axtisthexes. 

Keep your heart from him who 
begins his acquaintance with you 
by indirect flattery of your favor- 
ite foible. — Lavatee. 

Flattery is like friendship in 
show, but not in fruit. — Soceates. 



Folly and anger are but two 
names for the same thing. — Spax- 
i&H Peoveeb. 

Folly consists in drawing of 
false conclusions from just princi- 
ples, by which it is distinguished 
from madness, which draws just 
conclusions from false principles. 
— Locke. 



CosMUs, Duke of Fk^ronce, had 
a desperate saying against perfidi- 
ous or neglecting friends, as if 



FORGIVEXESS. 



103 



those wrongs were unpardonable. 
"You shall read," saith he, "that 
we are commanded to forgive our 
enemies, but you never read that 
we are commanded to forgive our 
friends." But yet the spirit of 
Job was in a better tune. " Shall 
w^e," saith he, "receive good at 
the hand of God, and shall we not 
receive evil?" And so of friends 
in proportion. — Bacox. 

Hath any wronged thee? Be 
bravely revenged: slight it, and 
the work is begun ; forgive it, and 
it is finished. He is below himself 
that is not above an injury. — 

QUAELES. 

The narrow soul 
Xnows not the godlike glory of 
forgiving. Eowe. 

He who has not forgiven an en- 
emy has never yet tasted one of 
the most sublime enjoyments of 
life. — Lavatee. 

'Tis easier for the generous to for- 
give. 
Than for offense to ask it. 

Thomsox. 

Of him that hopes to be for- 
given it is indispensably required 
that he forgive ; it is therefore al- 
most superfluous to urge any other 
motive. On this great duty eter- 
nity is as it were suspended, and 
to him that refuses to practice it 
the throne of mercy is inaccessi- 
ble; and there is reason to fear 



that the Saviour has been born in 
vain for him. — Steetch. 

If thou hast done a wrong or 
injury to another, rather acknowl- 
edge and endeavor to repair than 
to defend it. One Avay thou gain- 
est forgiveness ; the other thou 
doublest the wi^ong and the reck- 
oning. — W. Pexn. 

Whoeyee considers the weak- 
ness both of himself and others 
will not long want persuasives to 
forgiveness. We know not to what 
degree of malignity any injury is 
to be imputed, or how much its 
guilt, if we were to inspect the 
mind of him that committed it, 
would be extenuated by mistake, 
precipitance, or negligence. We 
cannot be certain how much more 
we feel than was intended, or how 
much we increase the mischief to 
ourselves by voluntary aggrava- 
tions. We may charge to design 
the effects of accident. We may 
think the blow violent, only be- 
cause we have made ourselves 
delicate and tender. We are, on 
every side, in danger of error and 
guilt, which we are certain to 
avoid only by speedy forgiveness. 

— JOHXSON. 

XoTHixa annoys an enemy more 
than kindness. It is an arrow that 
generally hits the mark. 

It is better to overlook trivial 
offenses than to quarrel for them. 
By the last you are even witli 



lO-i 



FOliGIVENESS — FORTITUDE. 



jour adversary ; by the first above 
him. 

A WISE man will make haste to 
forgive, because he know^s the full 
value of time, and will not suffer 
it to pass away in unnecessary 
pain. — Ramblee. ♦ 

He that cannot forgive others, 
breaks the bridge over which he 
must pass himself; for every man 
has need to be forgiven. — Loed 
Heebekt. 

FoEGivE others every personal 
injury; forgive yourself nothing. 



To live only to nurse up decays, 
to feel pain, and to wait upon dis- 
eases, is somewhat troublesome; 
but to bear sickness with decency 
is a noble instance of fortitude. 
He that charges an enemy does 
not show himself more brave than 
he that grapples handsomely with 
a disease. To do this without ab- 
ject complaints, wdthout rage and 
expostulation, is a glorious com- 
bat. — Colliee. 

It is absolutely necessary to a 
comfortable life to have a consid- 
erable degree of fortitude in the 
practice of virtue. Mr. Collier, in 
his essay on fortitude, saj'^s thus 
"What can be more honorable 
than to have courage enough to 
execute tlie commands of con- 



science and reason, to maintain 
our dignity and the station as- 
signed to us, and to be proof 
against poverty, pain, and even 
death itself? I mean so far as not 
to do anything that is sinful, or 
any way dishonorable ; to do this 
is to be above titles and honors, 
and shows a great mind." The 
life of a man who acts with a 
steady integrity, without valuing 
the interpretation of his actions, 
has but one uniform path to move 
in ; for as he acts upon the princi- 
ple of religion or true virtue, his 
mind is firm and undaunted in the 
practice of those things which 
conscience and propriety point out 
to him. — Tatlee. 

Teue fortitude is seen in great ex- 
ploits 

That justice warrants, and that 
wisdom guides ; 

All else is towering frenzy and 
distraction. 

We have all of us suflScient for- 
titude to bear the misfortunes of 
others. — La RocnEForcAULD. 

Religious fortitude is to be ex- 
ercised in maintaining Christian 
faith and practice. For this pur- 
pose we should be well informed 
on these heads, or our courage 
will otherwise be a blind princi- 
ple, and we shall be in danger of 
maintaining error instead of truth ; 
or if w^e should be in the right, 
it will only be by accident, and 
therefore our courage cannot be 



FORTUNE. 



105 



acceptable to God. Ill-instructed 
Christians are in danger of prov- 
ing cowards and deserting their 
profession; but where faith, knowl- 
edge, and prudence unite, courage 
and fortitude are to be much com- 
mended, and may prove highly 
useful to every believer in partic- 
ular who possesses and exercises 
these Christian virtues, and to the 
cause of true religion at large. — 
De. John Evaxs. 



con- 



The power of fortune is ( 
fessed only by the miserable ; for 
the happy impute all their success 
to prudence and merit. — Swift. 

I SEE those who are lifted highest 

on 
The hill of honor are nearest to 

the 
Blasts of envious fortune; while 

the low 
And humble valley fortunes are 

far more secure. 
IIun:ible valleys thrive with their 

bosoms full 
Of flowers, when hills melt with 

lightning, and 
The rough anger of the clouds. 

FOED. 

Every one is well or ill at ease 
according as he finds himself. Not 
he whom the world believes, but he 
who believes himself to be so is con- 
tent, and therein alone belief gives 
itself being and- reality. Fortune 



does us neither good nor hurt; 
she only presents us the matter 
and the seed, which our soul, more 
powerful than she, turns and ap- 
plies as she best pleases, being the 
sole cause and sovereign mistress 
of her own happy or unhappy 
condition. All external accessions 
receive taste and color from the 
internal constitution, as clothes 
warm us not with their heat but 
our own, which they are adapted 
to cover and keep in. — Montaigne. 

Let not fortune, which hath no 
name in Scripture, have any in 
thy divinity. Let Providence, 
not chance, have the honor of thy 
acknowledgments, and be thy 
(Edipus in contingencies. Mark 
well the paths and winding ways 
thereof; but be not too wise in 
the construction, or sudden in the 
application. The hand of Provi- 
dence writes often by abbrevia- 
tions, hieroglyphics, or short char- 
acters, which, like the laconism on 
the wall, are not to be made out 
but by a hint or key from that 
Spirit which indited them. Leave 
future occurrences to their uncer- 
tainties ; think that which is pres- 
ent thy own ; and, since 'tis easier 
to foretell an eclipse than a foul 
day at a distance, look for little 
regularity below. Attend with 
patience the uncertainty of things, 
and what lieth yet unexerted in 
the chaos of futurity. The uncer- 
tainty and ignorance of things to 
come, make the woi-ld new unto 
us by unexpected emergencies; 



lOG FOltirXE— FRANKNESS— FRIENDS, FRIENDSHIP. 



whereby \ve pass not our days in 
the trite road of affairs aftbrding 
no novity, for the novelizing 
spirit of man lives by variety and 
the new faces of things.' — Sir T. 
Bkowne. 

TTno/^eZs no ills 
Should therefore /^ar them; and 

when fortune smiles 
Be doubly cautious, lest destruc- 
tion come 
Remorseless on him, and he fall 
unpitied. Sophocles. 

TTiio hath not known ill fortune 

never knew 
Himself, or his own virtue. 

Mallet. 

It requires greater virtues to 
support good than bad fortune. — 
La Rochefoucatjld. 

FoETUN'E is ever seen accompa- 
nying industry, and is as often 
trundling in a wheelbarrow as 
lolling in a coach and six. — Gold- 
smith. 



The men who can be charged 
with fewest failings, either with 
respect to abilities or virtue, are 
generally most ready to allow 
them. Cesar Avrote an account of 
the errors committed by him in 
his wars of Gaul ; and Hippocrates, 
wliose name is, perhaps, in ra- 
tional estimation, greater than 



Cesar's, warned i)0sterity against 
a mistake into which he had fallen. 
"So much," says Celsus, "does 
the open and artless confession 
of an error become a man con- 
scious that he has enough remain- 
ing to support his character." — 

JOHNSOX. 

The next best thing to being in 
the right is frankly and manfully 
to acknowledge being in the 
wrong. 



Jfrinxirs, ^ifrxmirsljip". 

The Spanish proverb is too true : 
" Dead men and the absent find 
no friends." J All mouths are 
opened with a conceit of impunity. 
My ear shall be no grave to bury 
my friend's good name. But as I 
will be my present friend's self, so 
will I be my absent friend's deputy, 
to say for him what he would, 
and cannot, speak for himself. — 
Hall. 

Convey thy love to thy friend, 
as an arrow to the mark, to stick 
there, not as a ball against the 
wall, to rebound back to thee. 
That friendship will not continue 
to the end that is begun for an 
end. — ENonmiDiox. 

Be not the fourth friend of him 
who has had three and lost 
them.— Sir P. Sidney. 



FPJEXDS, FRIENDSHIP. 



107 



Delibeeate long before thou 
consecrate a friend. And when 
thy impartial judgment concludes 
him worthy of thy bosom, receive 
him joyfully, and entertain him 
wisely; impart thy secrets boldly, 
and mingle thy thoughts with his. 
He is thy very self, and use him 
so. If thou firmly think him 
faithful, thou makest him so. — 

EXCHIEIDIOX. 

A PEixciPAL fruit of friendship 
is the ease and discharge of the 
fullness of the heart which passions 
of all kinds do cause and induce. 
We know diseases of stoppings 
and suffocations are the most dan- 
gerous in the body, and it is not 
much otherwise in the mind. You 
may take sarsa to open the liver, 
steel to open the spleen, flower of 
sulphur for the lungs, castoreum 
for the brain ; but no receipt open- 
eth the heart but a true friend, 
to whom you may impart griefs, 
joys, fears, hopes, suspicions, 
counsels, and whatsoever lietli 
upon the heart to oppress it, in a 
kind of civil shrift or confession. 
How many things are there which 
a man cannot with any face or 
comeliness say or do himself. A 
man can scarce allege his own 
merits with modesty, much less 
extol them; a man cannot some- 
times brook to supplicate or beg, 
and a number of the like. But 
all these things are graceful in a 
friend's mouth which are blushing 
in a man's own. So again, a 
man's person hath many proper 



relations which he cannot put off. 
A man cannot speak to a son but 
as a father ; to his wife but as a 
husband; to his enemy but upon 
terms: whereas a friend may 
speak as the case requires, and 
not as it sorteth with the person. 
But to enumerate these things were 
endless. I have given the rule, 
where a man cannot fitly play 
his own part ; if he have not a 
friend, he may quit the stage. — 
Bacon. 

ISToxE but those who are mag- 
nanimous can be true friends in 
the strictest sense, for a friend 
may be in such a situation that 
requires the full exertions of the 
magnanimity of his friend to help 
and serve him. 

Tnou mayest be sure that he 
that will in private tell thee of 
thy faults is thy friend, for he ad- 
ventures thy dislike, and doth 
hazard thy hatred; for there are 
few men that can endure it, every 
man for the most part delighting 
in self-praise, which is one of the 
most universal follies that be- 
witcheth mankind. — Sie W. Ra- 
leigh. 

Get not your friends by bare 
compliments, but by giving them 
sensible tokens of your love. It 
is well worth while to learn how 
to will the heart of a man the 
right way. Force is of no use to 
make or preserve a friend, who is 



108 



rrJEXDS, FPJENDSniP. 



an animal tliat is never cauglit nor 
tamed but by kindness and pleas- 
ure. Excite them by your civil- 
ities, and show them tliat you 
desire nothing more than their 
satisfaction. Oblige with all 
your soul that friend who has 
made you a present of his own. 
— Socrates. 

The lightsome countenance of a 
friend giveth such an inward deck- 
ing to the house where it lodgeth 
as proudest palaces have cause to 
envy the gilding. — Sie Philip 

SiDIfEY. 

Much beautiful, and excellent, and 

fair 
"Was seen beneath the sun, but 

naught was seen 
More beautiful or excellent or fair 
Than face of faithful friend, fairest 

when seen 
In darkest day. And many sounds 

were sweet, 
Most ravishing and pleasant to the 

ear. 
But sweeter none than voice of 

faithful friend, 
Sweet always, sweetest heard in 

loudest storm. 

POLLOK. 

Let friendship creep gently to a 
height: if it rush to it, it may 
soon run itself out of breath. — 
Fuller. 

So MANY qualities are necessary 
to the possibility of friendship, 



and so many accidents must occur 
to its rise and its continuance, that 
the greatest part of mankind con- 
tent themselves without it, and 
supply its place as they can with 
interest and dependence. — Jonx- 

SON. 

As GOLD more splendid from the 

fire appears. 
Thus friendship brightens by the 

length of years. 

Mex'axdee. 

If a man does not make new 
acquaintance as he advances 
through life he will soon find him- 
self left alone. A man should 
keep his friendship in constant re- 
pair. — Dr. Jonxsox.^ 

Axtisthexes used to wonder 
at those who were curious in buy- 
ing but an earthen dish to see that 
it had no cracks nor inconven- 
iences, and yet would be careless in 
the choice of friends, to take them 
with the flaws of vice. Surely a 
man''s companion is a second gen- 
ius to sway him to the good or 
bad. — OwEX Feltham. 

The nature of friendship is to 
have everything in common, good 
and ill, joy and grief. — St. Greg- 
ory OF Nazianzex. 

The first necessary property in 
real friendship is that it be entirely 
disinterested. If any form an in- 



FRIENDS, FRIENDSHIP. 



100 



timacy merely for what they can 
gain by it, this is not true friend- 
ship in such a person. It must be 
free from any such selfish view, 
and only design mutual benefit as 
each may require. Again, it must 
be unreserved. It is true indeed 
that friends are not bound to re- 
veal to each other all their family 
concerns, but they should be ever 
ready to disclose what may in any 
point of view concern each other. 
Lastly, it is benevolent. Friends 
must study to please and oblige 
each other in the most delicate, 
kind, and liberal manner ; and that 
in poverty and trouble, as well as 
in riches or prosperity. The be- 
nevolence of friends is also mani- 
fested in overlooking each other's 
faults, and, in the most tender man- 
ner, admonishing each other when 
they do amiss. Upon the whole, 
the purse, the heart, and the 
house ought to be open to a 
friend, and in no case can we shut 
out either of them, unless upon 
clear proofs of treachery, immo- 
rality, or some other great crime. 
— Steetch. 

Feiendship is one mind in two 
bodies. — Aeistotle. 



Aeeiend the sorrows of his friend 

should feel. 
Relieve by pity, and by counsel 

heal. SooTT. 

A feiend is worth all hazards we 
can run. 



Poor is the friendless master of a 

world. 
A world in purchase for a friend 

is gain. Young. 

Theee is no possession more 
valuable than a good and faithful 
friend. — Soceates. 

Heatek gives us friends to "bless 

the present scene, 
Resumes them to prepare na for 

the next. Youkg. 

PRoeuEE not friends in haste, 
nor hastily part with them. — 
Solon. 

A friend should bear a friend's 
infirmities, — Shaes.peaee. 

Feiendships early contracted 
are generally the mo&t firm and 
lasting; but in whatever period 
they are contracted they are un- 
doubtedly one of the greatest 
blessings we can enjoy. They 
often double our pleasure and di- 
vide our sorrows. They give a 
brighter sunshine to prosperity, 
and enlighten the gloom of the 
darkest hour, and we truly call 
real friendship the medicine of 
life. Too many there are whose 
attachment to those they call 
their friends is confined to the day 
of their prosperity. As long as 
that continues, they are or appear 
to be afifectionate and cordial ; but 
as soon as their friend is under a 



110 



FRIENDS, FRIENDSHIP. 



cloud they begin to withdraw, and 
pretend to find some fault in his 
conduct or behavior to justify a 
separation. In friendship of this 
sort tliere can be no sincerity, and 
the heart has no concern, for the 
great test of true friendship is con- 
stancy in the hour of danger or dis- 
tress. When your friend is calum- 
niated, then is the time openly and 
boldly to defend Mm ; when his cir- 
cumstances are declining, then is 
the time of relieving him; when 
sickness or infirmities come on 
him, then is the time of visiting and 
comforting him. These are some 
of the duties, or sacred claims of 
friendship which virtue, but espe- 
cially religion, enforces in all who 
have friends. To act in this man- 
ner toward our friends commands 
esteem from all, and we have 
every reason to hope that if 
we were in distress Providence 
would incline our friends thus 
benevolently to act toward us, — 
De, Blair. 

A FAITHFUL and true friend is a 
living treasure, inestijiiable in pos- 
session, and deeply to be lamented 
when gone. Nothing is more com- 
mon tljan to talk of a friend; noth- 
ing more difficult than to find one ; 
nothing more rare than to improve 
by one as we ought. ; 



All men have their frailties; 
and whoever looks for a friend 
without imperfections will never 
find M'hat he seeks. '' We love our- 



selves notwithstanding our ftmlts, 
and we ought to love our friends 
in like manner. — Cyeus. " 

With grief or joy when the full 

bosom's fraught. 
How sweet is the communicative 

thought ; 
With how much ardor is a friend 

desired, 
With keen sensations like our 

own inspired. 
Ready to feel with us our joy or 

woe, 
While tears. of sorrow or of glad- 
ness flow ; 
Wben we impart our pleasures or 

distress, 
The first to double, and the last 

make less. 

Wheee you are liberal of your 

loves and counsels, 
Be sure you be not loose; for 

those you make friends. 
And give your hearts to, when 

they once perceive 
The least rub in your fortunes, fall 

away 
Like water from ye^ never found 

again. 

SnAKSPEARE. 

Be careful to make friendship 
the child, and not the father of 
virtue ; for many strongly-knit 
minds are rather good friends than 
good men. So, although they do 
not like tlie evil their friend does, 
yet tliey like him who does the 
evil ; and though no counselors of 



FPJENDS, FRIENDSHIP — rRUGALITY. 



Ill 



the offense, they yet protect the 
offender. — Sie P. Sidney. 



TnEY are the best friends who 
support and encourage eacli other 
most in good designs and deeds; 
and tliey the worst enemies who 
support and encourage each other 



Cax gold gain friendship? Impu- 
dence of hope! 

As well mere man an angel might 
beget. 

Love, and love only, is the loan 
for love. 

All like the purchase; few the 
price will pay : 

And this makes friends sucli mir- 
acles below. 

YouxG. 

Feiexdship improves happiness 
and aljates misery by doubling our 
joy and dividing our grief. — Ad- 

DISOX. 

A FPJEXD that you buy with 
presents wiU betray you for great- 
er ones. 

A MouxTAix is made up of 
atoms, and friendship of little mat- 
ters. If the atoms hold not to- 
gether, the mountain is crumbled 
into dust. 

Xo oxE can be happy without a 
friend ; and no one can know what 
friends he has till he is unhappy. 



Frugality may be termed the 
daughter of prudence, the sister 
of temperance, and the parent of 
liberty. He that is extravagant 
will quickly become poor; and 
poverty will enforce dependence 
and invite corruption. It will al- 
most always produce a passive 
compliance with the wickedness 
of others, and there are few who 
do not learn by degrees to prac- 
tice those crimes which they cease 
to censure. — Johxsox. 



Feugality is founded on the 
principle that all riches have lim- 
its. BlTEKE. 



It appears evident that frugal- 
ity is necessary even to complete 
the pleasure of expense ; for it may 
be generally remarked of those 
who squander what they know 
their fortune not sufficient to al- 
low, that in their most jovial ex- 
pense there always breaks out 
some proof of discontent and im- 
patience : they either scatter with 
a kind of wild desperation and 
affected lavishness, as criminals 
brave the gallows when they can- 
not escape it, or pay their money 
with a peevish anxiety, and en- 
deavor at once to spend idly and 
to save meanly. Having neither 
firmness to deny their passions, 
nor courage to gratify tliem, they 



112 



FUTURE. 



murmur at tlieir own enjoyments, 
and poison the bowl of pleasure 
by reflections on the cost. 



Jfuture, 



To-MOEEOw, and to-morrow, and 
to-morrow 

Creeps, in its petty pace, from day 
to day, 

To the last syllable of recorded 
time: 

And all our yesterdays have light- 
ed fools 

The way to dusty death. 

Shakspeaee. 

"To-MOREOW," didst thou say? 

Methought I heard Horatio say, 
" To-morrow ?" 

Go to ; I will not hear of it. " To- 
morrow ?" 

'Tis a sharper, that stakes his pen- 
ury 

Against thy plenty ; who takes thy 
ready cash 

And pays thee naught but wishes, 
hopes, and promises, 

The currency of idiots; injurious 
bankrupt. 

That gulls the easy creditor. " To- 
morrow?" 

It is a period nowhere to be found 

In all the hoary registers of time. 



Unless perchance in the fool's cal- 
endar. 

Wisdom disclaims the word, nor 
holds society 

With those who own it. No, my 
Horatio, 

'Tis fancy's child, and folly is its 
father ; 

Wrought of such stuff as dreams 
are, and as baseless 

As the fantastic visions of the 
evening. Cottox. 

The great task of him who con- 
ducts his life by the precepts of 
religion, is to make the future pre- 
dominate over the present ; to im- 
press upon his mind so strong a 
sense of the importance of obedi- 
ence to the divine will, of the value 
of the reward promised to virtue, 
and the terrors of the punishment 
denounced against crimes, as may 
overbear all the temptations which 
temporal hope or fear can bring 
in his way, and enable him to bid 
equal defiance to joy and sorrow ; 
to turn away at one time from the 
allurements of ambition, and push 
forward at another against the 
threats of calamity. — Johnsox. 

Eveeythixct that looks to the 
future elevates human nature ; for 
never is life so low or so little as 
when occupied with the present. 
— Laxdox. 



GEXIUS. 



113 



(§mxm. 



That is a siiperior genius, and 
an extraordinary temper, which 
looks upon the misfortunes and 
crosses of life as the seed of the 
most lieroic virtues. This man 
exults in adversity, he glories in 
ill-fortune. Torments do not dis- 
compose the serenity of his face, 
much less change the steadfast- 
ness of his heart. Nothing 
is able to pull him down or 
weaken him. Everything yields 
to the magnanimity and wisdom 
of this philosopher. If he is 
spoiled of his goods and conven- 
iences of earth, he hath wings 
ready to raise him up even to 
heaven. He flies into the bosom 
of God, who makes him amends 
for all, and is instead of all things 
to him. Though he is composed 
of matter, he lives as if he 
were not material. He is in the 
world witli a body, as if he were a 
pure spi)"it. In the midst of so 
many ])assions and sufferings 
which life is full of, he seems to 
be impassible. lie lets himself be 
vanquished in everything except 
courage, and even where he sub- 
mits he triumphs over those who 
seem to be above him. — St. Geeg- 
OEY Nazianzen. 

It is often found that a fine 
genius has but a weak memory, 
for where the genius is bright and 
the imagination vivid, the power 
of memory may be too much neg- 
lected, and lose its improvement. 



An active fancy readily wanders 
over a multitude of objects, and is 
continually entertaining itself with 
new flying images; it runs through 
a number of new scenes, or new 
pages, but without due attention, 
and seldom sufi'ers itself to dwell 
long enough upon any one of 
them to make a deep impression 
thereof upon the mind, and com- 
mit it to lasting remembrance. 
This is one plain and obvious rea- 
son why there are some persons 
of very bright parts and active 
spirits who have but short and 
narrow powers of remembrance, 
for having riches of their own, 
they are not solicitous to borrow. 
But notwithstanding men of 
original genius have not so much 
need to borrow as others, yet it 
would be better for them to em- 
ploy their memories more than 
they usually do ; for the wise ex- 
ercise of our own reasoning pow- 
ers may be called our own proper 
manufactures, and whatever we 
borrow from abroad, thesQ may be 
termed our foreign treasure, both 
together make a wealthy and 
happy mind. Some retain a good 
memory to extreme old age, but 
in general it is in its greatest per- 
fection from fifteen to fifty. — De. 
Watts. 

GExirs ! thou gift of heaven ! thou 

light divine ! 
Amid what dangers art thou 

doomed to shine! 
Oft will the body's weakness 

check thy force, 



114 



GEXIUS — GEXTLEMAX — GLORY. 



Oft damp tliy vigor, and impede 
thy course ; 

And trembling nerves compel thee 
to restrain 

Thy noble eftbrts, to contend with 
pain ; 

Or want (sad guest!) will in thy 
presence come, 

And breathe around her melan- 
choly gloom ; 

To life's low cares will thy proud 
thought confine, 

x\nd make her sufferings, her im- 
patience, thine, Ceabbe. 

Gexius is used to signify that 
talent or aptitude which we re- 
ceive from nature, whereby we 
excel in any one thing. Thus we 
speak of a genius for mathematics, 
as well as a genius for poetry, 
painting, or any mechanical em- 
ployment. Genius cannot be ac- 
quired by art and study, though 
it may greatly be improved by 
them. • Genius is a higher faculty 
than taste, for it is not uncommon 
to meet with persons who have an 
excellent taste in music, poetry, 
painting, or oratoi-y, or all to- 
gether; but to find one who is an 
excellent performer in these is 
rather rare, and shows a genius. 
A universal genius, or one who 
excels in all or many arts and 
sciences, is very uncommon in- 
deed. Those who attempt to 
be great in many professions or 
sciences are not likely to excel in 
any ; it is therefore best, espe- 
cially for youth, to find out and 
pursue what nature points out, and 



then to bend the mind f»nly to one 
or two objects; this will have the 
fairest prospect of success, for the 
rays must converge to a point in 
order to glow intensely. — Dr. 
Blaie. 

"Whex a true genius appears in 
the world, you may know him by 
this sign, that the dunces are all 
in confederacy against him, — 

SwiET. 

Ge^tcts is supposed to be a 
power of producing excellences 
which are out of the reach of the 
rules of art; a power which no 
precepts can teach, and which no 
industry can acquire. — Sie Joshua 
Reynolds. 



^noEVEE is open, loyal, true, 
of humane and affable demeanor, 
honorable himself, and in his judg- 
ment of others faithful to his 
word as to law, and faithful alike 
to God and man ; such a man is a 
true gentleman. 



©torn. 



Real glory 
Springs from the silent conquest 

of ourselves ; 
And without that the conqueror 

is naught 
But the first slave ! 

Thomson. 



GLORY — GOD. 



115 



^\E rise in glory as we sink in 
pride; 

Where boasting ends, there dig- 
nity begins. Youxg. 

All our present glory consists 
in our preparation for future 
glory. — Owen-. 

The most substantial glory of a 
country is in its virtuous great men : 
its prosperity will depend on its do- 
cility to learn from their example. 
That nation is fated to ignominy 
and servitude for which such mxCn 
have lived in vain. Power may 
be seized by a nation that is yet 
barbarous, and wealth may be 
enjoyed by one that it finds or 
renders sordid: the one is the 
gift and sport of accident, and 
the other is the sport of power. 
Both are mutable, and have 
passed away without leaving be- 
hind them any other memorial 
than ruins that offend taste, and 
traditions that baffle conjecture. 
But the glory of Greece is im- 
perishable, or will last as long 
as learning itself, which is its 
monument. It strikes an ever- 
lasting root, and leaves perennial 
blossoms on its grave. — ^Fishee 
Ames. 

Tette glory consists in doing 
what deserves to be written, in 
writing what deserves to be read, 
and in so living as to make the 
world happier and better for our 
living in it. — Pliny. 



Theee is a beauty in the name 
appropriated by the Saxon nations 
to the Deity, unequaled except 
by his most venerated Hebrew 
appellation. They call him " God," 
which is literally, "The good;" 
the same word thus signifying the 
Deity and his most endearing 
quality. — Shaeox Tuenee. 

Theee is but one word that 
deserves more thought, or is 
greater than eternity, and that is 
God, the Father of eternity. 

All love the kind providence 
of God, but only the saints love 
the God of the kind providence. — 
Flavel. 

Theee is an eye that never sleeps 

Beneath the wing of night ; 
There is an ear that never shuts 

"When sink the beams of light ; 
There is an arm that never tires 

When human strength gives 
way; 
There is a love that never fails 

When earthly loves decay. 

Mt gems are falling away, but 
it is because God is making up 
his jewels. — Wolfe. 

We cannot pay homage to God 
worthy of him, if we believe that 
God is obliged to our understand- 
ing for the esteem we have of him. 
— St. Zenon of Yeeona. 



IIG 



(;or). 



God frequently conceals the 
part which his cliildren have in 
the conversion of souls. Yet one 
may boldly say that person who 
long groans before him for the con- 
version of another, whenever that 
soul is converted to God, is one 
of the chief causes of it. — John 
AYesley. 

A HEATHEN- philosophcr once 
asked a Christian: "Where is 
God?" The Christian answered, 
"Let me first ask you, "Where is 
he not ?" — De. Aerowsmith. 

Fear God for his power, trust 
him for his wisdom, love him for 
his goodness, praise him for his 
greatness, believe him for his 
faithfulness, and adore him for his 
holiness. — Mason. 

God has spoken as a God ought 
to speak, and as the sovereign 
Judge of all things ought, to whom 
it belongs not to prove, but to 
pronounce the truths that he 
would teach men. — Laotantius. 

A FOE to God was ne'er true 
friend to man. Young. 

God is immutable, that is, al- 
ways the same in his glory, his 
happiness, his will, his love, his 
decrees, his power, his promises, 
and his faithfulness. The proper 
consideration of the unchange- 
ableness of God is a firm founda- 
tion for the hope of real Chris- 
tians, and a pei-pctual source of 
consolation to them. — Dr. Guyse. 



All are but jiart-s of one stupen- 
dous whole. 

Whose body nature is, and God 
the soul ; 

He heats the sun, refreshes in the 
breeze, 

Glows in the stars, and blossoms 
in the trees ; 

Breathes in our soul, sustains our 
mortal part 

As full, as perfect, in a hair, as 
heart ; 

Lives through all life, extends 
through all extent. 

Spreads undivided, operates un- 
spent ; 

To him, no high, no low, no 
great, no small. 

He fills, he bounds, connects and 
measures all. Pope. 

The ancient hieroglyphic for 
God was the figure of an eye 
upon a scepter, to denote that he 
sees and rules all things. — 
Barker. 

God will never acknowledge 
any convert that stays in a known 
sin. — Hall. 

Gqd never wrought miracles 
to convince atheism, because his 
ordinary works convince it, — 
Bacon. 

God is perfect truth and the 
fountain of it. His truth and 
faithfulness consist in the exact 
agreement of his revealed will to 
his intentions; his word and 
works are all consistent. He can 



GOD. 



117 



never say or do anything but 
what is strictly agreeable to truth. 
His faithfulness consists not only 
in being unchangeably good to his 
people, but in completely fultill- 
iug everything contained in his 
promises, and punishing impeni- 
tent sinners according to all that 
is denounced in his threatenings. 
— Chaenock. 

We may truly conceive of God, 
though we cannot fully conceive 
of him ; we may have right ap- 
prehensions of him, though we 
can never comprehend him. — 
Masox. 

Judas, being sensible of the 
heinousness of his crime, was not 
contented to lose the price of his 
sacrilege, but flung away himself. 
But in revenging God on his own 
person, he confessed Him w^hom he 
had denied in betraying him. — 
St. Maximus. 

All creatures are as nothing 
compared with God, and abso- 
lutely nothing without him. — 
Mason. 

God is above all things of the 
world. Exalt yourself, and you 
will not come nigh him ; humble 
yourself, and he himself descends 
down to you. — St. Austin. 

God has two thrones, one in 
the highest heavens, and the 
other in the lowest hearts. — 
Weight. 



The same hand that prepared a 
lion for Samson, hath proportion- 
able matches for every Christian. 
God never gives strength, but he 
employs it. — Hall. 

God always acts though always 
at rest, and is always at rest 
though continually acting. — Au- 

GUSTIX. 

God is never greater than when 
man thinks him little. — Teetul- 

LIAX. 

God only stays the desires of 
a gracious soul here below, but he 
will fully satisfy them above. 

Those proud philosophers that 
knew God and did not glorify 
him as God, who received so 
many good things from him and 
did not thank him for them; 
those sages of the world are be- 
come foolish and senseless, their 
mind is in error and their heart 
is full of darkness. Do you think 
that this error, this blindness, is a 
small punishment to them? If a 
man in committing a theft should 
lose an eye, all the world would 
say that God has thus severely 
punished him. A sinner loses 
the eye of the soul, and yet God 
is thought to take no notice of 
him. — St. Austin. 

If thou w^ouldst be informed 
what God has written concerning 
tliee in heaven look into thine 



lis 



GOD. 



own bosom, .'iiid see Avluit gTaces 
he has wrought in thee. — Fcller. 

God is perfectly just ; justice is 
commonly divided into communi- 
cation and distribution. The for- 
mer, as it implies an equal 
exchange of benefits, cannot 
properly be applied to God ; but 
the latter, as it signifies an equi- 
table distribution of rewards and 
punishments, is strictly applicable 
to him. He is infinitely wise, 
therefore he perfectly knows how 
to administer justice ; he cannot be 
awed by any power to pervert it ; 
he has nothing to fear from any 
of his creatures, and by his inde- 
pendent and immense riches and 
happiness he is above every 
temptation to dispose him to be 
unjust. This attribute has a dread- 
ful aspect toward impenitent sin- 
ners, but a most pleasing and 
comfortable one to all who trust 
in the merit of Christ for salva- 
tion, and by faith lead holy lives. 
— Beret-steeet Seemoxs. 

If any could fully describe God 
they would be equal to him, or he 
would cease to be what he is. — 
Epictetus. 

God is unchangeable in his 
being and all his perfections, for 
it would argue either present or 
future imperfection for him to 
change for the better or the worse. 
AVhen we read in the Bible of 
God's repenting and the like, such 
expressions are not to be under- 



stood as if God altered his miud, 
but only that he alters his dispen- 
sations ; so likewise when joy, 
grief, or hatred are ascribed to 
God, these are not properly affec- 
tions that take their turns in his 
mind as they do in ours, but they 
are expressions of the agreeable- 
ness or disagreeableness of persons 
and things to his holy nature and 
will, and of his acting toward 
them, answerable to the various 
changes that are in tliem, as we 
do on like occasions when such 
affections are working in us. — 
De. Guyse. 

Our highest praises to God 
cannot in the least benefit him, 
but his goodness has put a value 
upon them, and his word com- 
mands them. Praise is therefore 
the debt and law of nature, as well 
as the privilege and pleasure of a 
Christian ; it is an act in which 
the two ruling faculties of the 
mind, the understanding and the 
will, both concur ; the under- 
standing owns the propriety of it^ 
and the will cheerfully pays it. 
Not only are we bound in grati- 
tude to magnify the Lord for the 
continual favors he bestows on us, 
but such is the loveliness of his 
nature that it is hardly possible to 
think of him properly without 
praising him. It is the most disin- 
terested as well as the most pleas- 
ing part of divine worehip, and 
has this distinguishing excellency, 
that it unites with all intelligent 
holy beings, angels as well as men, 



GOD. 



119 



and not only is well adapted for 
the Church militant, hut will 
continue in the highest perfec- 
tion in the Church triumphant. 

BiSnOP AxTEEBrKY. 

It is a deep and difficult thing 
to conceive properly of God in 
our thoughts of him, hut espe- 
cially in our addresses to him. Thus 
much we know, that as it is re- 
vealed he is a spirit, we should 
banish from our minds every idea 
of his having any form or shape 
whatever, and only think of hhn 
as an infinitely glorious and un- 
limited being. Our heai't should 
adore a spiritual majesty which 
it cannot comprehend, and as it 
Avere lose itself in his infinitude ; 
we must believe him great with- 
out quantity, omnipresent with- 
out place, everlasting without 
time, and containing dl things 
without extent; and when our 
thoughts are come to the highest 
let us stop, wonder, and adore. — 
Bisnop Hall. 

God is Alpha and Omega in the 
great world; endeavor to make 
him so in the little world : make 
him thy evening epilogue, and 
thy morning prologue ; practice to 
make him thy last thought at 
night when thou sleepest, and thy 
first in the morning when thou 
wakest: so shall thy fancy be 
sanctified in the night, and thy 
understanding rectified in the day ; 
so shall thy rest be peaceful, thy 
labors prosperous, thy life pious, 
and thy death glorious. — Quakles. 



God is a declaratory deity. Tlie 
whole year is to his saints a con- 
tinual epiphany, one day of man- 
ifestation. In every minute that 
strikes upon the bell is a syllable, 
nay, a syllogism from God. God 
translates himself in particular 
works, nationally and personally. 
If I be covetous, God wiH tell me 
that heaven is a pearl, a treasure : 
if cheerful and aftected with mirth, 
that heaven is all joy: if ambi- 
tious and hungry of preferment, 
that heaven is all glory : if soci- 
able and conversible, that it is 
a communion of splints. — ^De. 

DOXXE. 

God hath so ordered it that 
honor is naturally consequent on 
the honoring him. God hath 
made goodness a noble and stately 
thing ; hath impressed on it that 
beauty and majesty which com- 
mands a universal love and ven- 
eration, which strikes presently 
both a kindly and an awful re- 
spect into the minds of all men. 
Power may be dreaded, riches 
may be courted, wit and knowl- 
edge may be admired ; but only 
goodness is truly esteemed and 
honored, — Baekon. 

'We can be in no such unhappy 
condition where God cannot help 
us, for the depths of mi&eiy are 
not beyond the depths of mercy. If 
comforts be wanting, God can 
create comforts, not only out of 
nothing, but out of the greatest 
sorrows. — De. Sibs. 



120 



GOD — GOLD. 



All reli,ii:ion is in the lieart, 
and God has established various 
duties, and all outward worship 
to conduct us to the inward du- 
ties of love and praise. We are 
only before God what we are in 
heart and affection ; he chiefly re- 
spects our love; he will be the 
object of all our desires, the end 
of all our actions, the principle of 
all our affections, and the govern- 
ing power of our whole souls. — 
Massilloist. 

The seeking of God should be 
the prologue to all our affairs ; we 
are enjoined first to pray, and then 
determine: " Thou shalt make thy 
prayer unto him: thou shalt also 
decree a thing, and it shall be es- 
tablished unto thee." The inter- 
esting providence in our concerns 
is the highway to success. The 
reason we miscarry is because we 
consult not God, but determine 
without him, and then we have 
no reason to complain of him for 
not prospering our way when we 
never commended our affairs to 
his conduct. — Chaenock. 

None can make our souls happy 
but God who made them, nor any 
give satisfaction to them but he 
that made satisfaction for them. 
"We must not expect more from 
anything than God has put into it. 
He never uitended to put the virtue 
of soul-satisfying into any mere 
creature, but hath reserved for 
himself, Son, and Spirit the power 
of making souls happy, as a prin- 



cipal part of his own divine pre- 
rogative. To such therefore as ex- 
pect it elsewhere, that person or 
thing they rely upon may say to 
them, as Jacob to Racliel, "Am I 
in God's stead?" Our souls at 
first were made in the image of 
God, and just as when there is a 
curious impression made in wax 
nothing can adequately fill the di- 
mensions and lineament of it but 
the very seal that stamped it, so 
nothing can perfectly fill the soul 
but God. The motion of immor- 
tal souls is like that of the celes- 
tial bodies, purely circular; they 
cannot enjoy proper rest without 
returning to the same point from 
whence they issued, which is the 
bosom of God. Sick persons are 
often sent by physicians to their 
native soil ; the spirit of man was 
first breathed into him by God; 
nor can sick souls be cured, and 
happiness enjoyed, till the soul re- 
turns to God through Jesus Christ. 
— De. Aeeowsmith. 



The sun can only be seen by its 
own light, so God can only be 
known by his own spirit, word, 
and works. 



How vilely has he lost himself 
who has become a slave to his 
servant, and exalts him to the dig- 
nity of his Maker. Gold is the 
friend, the wife, the god of the 



GC)LD — GOOD XAME. 



121 



money-monger of the world. — 
Pexn. 

Gold is worse poison to men s 
^ouls, 

Doing more murders in this loath- 
some world 

Than any mortal drug. 

Shakspeaee. 

The lust of gold, unfeehng and re- 
morseless, 

The last corruption of degenerate 
man. Jonxsox. 

But, scarce observed, the know- 
ing and the bold 

Fall in the general massacre of 
gold; 

AYide wasting pest ! that rages un- 
confined, 

And crowds with crimes the 
records of mankind. 

For gold his sword the hireling 
ruffian draws, 

For gold the hireling judge dis- 
torts the laws ; 

"Wealth heaped on wealth, nor 
truth nor safety buys. 

The dangers gather as the treas- 
ures rise. — JoHXsox. 



Good name, in man or woman, 
Is the immediate jewel of their 



souls. 



Shakspeaee. 



Get and preserve a good name, 
if it were but for the public serv- 
ice ; for one of a deserved reputa- 



tion hath oftentimes an oj)portu- 
nity to do that good which 
another cannot that wants it. 
And he may practice it with more 
security and success. — Fullee. 

Theee are a set of mahcious, 
prating, prudent gossips, both 
male and female, who murder 
characters to kill time; and wiU 
rob a young fellow of his good 
name before he has years to know 
the value of it. — Sheeidax. 

A GOOD name, if any earthly 
thing, is worth seeking, worth 
striving for. Yet to affect a bare 
name, when we deserve either iU 
or nothing, is but a proud hypoc- 
risy ; and to be puffed up Avith 
the wrongful estimation of others 
mistaking our worth, is an idle 
and ridiculous pride. Thou art 
well spoken of upon no desert. 
\Yhat then ? Thou hast deceived 
thy neighbors, they one another, 
and all of them have deceived 
thee ; for thou madest them think 
of thee otherwise than thou art ; 
and they have made thee think of 
thyself as thou art accounted. 
The deceit came from thee, the 
shame will end in thee. I wiU 
account no wrong greater than 
for a man to esteem and report 
me above that I am; not rejoicing 
in that I am well thought of, but 
in that I am such as I am esteemed. 
— Hall. 

Coxsidee that the invisible 
thing called a good name is made 



122 



GOOD XAME — GOODXES,^ 



lip of the breath of numbers tluit 
speak well of you ; so that if by 
a disobliging -word you silence the 
meanest, the gale will be less 
strong which is to bear up your 
esteem. And though nothing is 
so vain as the eager pursuit of 
empty applause, yet to be well 
thought of, and to be kindly used 
by the world, is like a glory about 
a woman's head : it is a perfume 
she carries about her, and leaveth 
wherever she goeth ; it is a charm 
against its will. Malice may 
empty her quiver, but cannot 
wound ; the dart will not stick, the 
jests will not take without the 
consent of the world. A scandal 
doth not go deep; it is only a 
slight stroke upon the injured 
party, and returneth with the 
greater force upon those that gave 
it. — Sayille. 



IsTo MAN deserves to be praised 
for his goodness unless he has 
strength of character to be wicked. 
All other goodness is generally 
nothing but indolence or impo- 
tence of will. — La Rochefou- 



IIe is not great who is not greatly 
good. Shakspeake. 

Men often do good in order 
that they may do evil with impu- 
nity. — La Rochefoucauld. 



Goodness hath ever been a 
stronger guard than valor. — Hall. 

It is some hope of goodness not 
to grow worse. It is apart of, bad- 
ness not to grow better. I will 
take heed of quenching the spark 
and strive to kindle a fire. If I 
have the goodness I should, it is 
not too much ; why should I make 
It less? If I keep the goodness I 
have it is not enough ; why do I 
not make it more? He never 
was so good as he should be that 
doth not strive to be better than 
he is ; he never will be better than 
he is tliat dotli not fear to be 
worse than he was. — Selden. 

Goodness, like the river N"ile, 
overflows its banks to enrich the 
soil, and to throw plenty into the 
country. Goodness is generous 
and diffusive; it is largeness of 
mind and sweetness of temper, 
balsam in the blood and justice 
sublimated to a richer spirit. 
Goodness is justice and somewhat 
more. Goodness is modest and 
sincere, inoffensive and obliging; 
it ruffles and disturbs nobody, nor 
puts anything to pain without 
necessity. — Collier. 

As IT is never too soon to be 
good, so is it never too late to 
amend. I will therefore neither 
neglect the time present, nor de- 
spair of the time past. If I had 
been sooner good I might perhaps 
have been better; if I a longer 
l)ad I shall, I am sure, be worse. 



G00DXES3 — GOSPEL. 



12G 



That I have staved a long time 
idle ill the market-place deserves 
reprehension, but if I am late sent 
into the vineyard I have encour- 
agement to work: "I w^ill give 
unto this last as imto thee." — 
Waewick. 

GooDXEss is the best greatness, 
and the best riches. It secures 
what no other wealth or influence 
can buj. 



TnE Gospel, like the productions 
of nature, will imj)rove upon trial. 
The application of the microscope 
to nature, and meditation by faith 
to the Gospel, will always show 
fresh beauties and attractions. — 
Shexstone. 

It is very curious how the leaven 
in the bread lightens and makes it 
palatable and good. So when the 
leaven of the Gospel comes into 
the heart it affects every faculty 
of it, and the truth is known by 
its power as felt on the mind. — 
R. Hill. 

To EEJECT the Gospel because 
bad men pervert it, and weak men 
deform it and quarrel about it, and 
bigoted men look sour on others 
and curse them because they do 
not agree in every tittle among 
themselves, displays the same folly 
as if a person should cut down a 
tree bearino; abundance of deli- 



cious fruit and furnishing a re- 
freshing shade, because caterpil- 
lars disfigured the leaves, and 
spiders made their webs among 
the branches. — Bogue. 

What a glorious Gospel is that 
which imprints the very image of 
God upon the mind! How is it 
possible for any to live in sin who 
have felt the Gospel to be the 
power of God to the salvation of 
their souls. — R. Hill. 

Some hear the Gospel as a but- 
terfly settles upon a flower, but 
draw no sweetness from it; and 
others, who come to find fault, 
hear it as a spider settles upon a, 
flower: they would, if possible, 
draw poison from it. 

Theofghout all ranks the af- 
flicted form a considerable part of 
the human race; for even those 
wlio are called prosperous are 
sometimes obliged to drink from 
the cup of bitterness. The Gospel 
is particularly entitled to our re- 
gard by accommodating itself with 
great tenderness to those in tribu- 
lation. It is not merely a system 
of doctrines or precepts, but the 
same voice which enjoins our duty 
utters the words of consolation. 
Christ affords rest to the disturbed 
mind ; let them come to him, and 
they shall regain peace and quiet- 
ness. AVhile bad men trace in their 
calamities the hand of an offend- 
ed sovereign, real Christians view 
them as the necessary chastise- 



124 



GOSPEL. 



inent of a merciful father, and de- 
sire to wait ffith patience till the 
designs of Providence are accom- 
plislied. In the mean time the 
Gospel opens to them its blessed 
and liolj sanctuary. God is with 
them, Clirist and the Holy Spirit 
are with them, and though every 
earthly friend should leave them, 
they can look up to heaven to one 
who will never forsake them. To 
these present consolations the re- 
ligion of Christ adds the joyful 
prospects of a future state. This 
life is only the temporary mansion 
of painful though necessary disci- 
pline. "When that discipline is fin- 
ished, all the saints will he assem- 
bled in the blissful regions above ; 
and then all the troubles of this 
life will only be as an uncomfortable 
dream, from which one awakes into 
health, light, and joy. — De. Blaie. 

The Gospel is salvation from 
the law ; it brings glad tidings for 
convinced sinners, and shows how 
their sins may be pardoned, and 
they redeemed from the curses of 
the broken law. It reveals to 
them what Christ has done and 
suffered to satisfy the law, and 
how he endured the pains and 
penalties of it, dying the death to 
which the law had sentenced them. 
And the Gospel shows them how 
they may freely receive the bene- 
fits of what Clirist has done and 
KutTered. Some may think the 
moral law is totally repealed by 
the Gospel, but it is not, for it 
cannot change any more than God 



can change, but it will stand in 
full force to the end of the world. 
It is also very useful to convince 
of sin, and thereby to put truly 
awakened sinners upon seeking 
such a righteousness as the law 
requires, which is that of Christ. 
The law and the Gospel may be 
distinguished in these and other 
respects. According to the law 
salvation is of works, but by the 
Gospel it is of grace. The law 
says. Do this and live; but the 
Gospel says. Believe this and thou 
shalt be saved. The law threat- 
ens to punish the sinner for the 
very first ofiense ; but the Gospel 
gives pardon for innumerable of- 
fenses. The law leaves the sinner 
under guilt and condemnation, and 
sentences him to death; but the 
Gospel invites him to receive par- 
don, full justification, and eternal 
salvation. If we die under the 
guilt of the law, hell must be our 
eternal portion ; but if we die par- 
takers of the grace of the Gospel, 
heaven will be our everlasting in- 
heritance. ROMAINE. 

now lovely is the Gospel to 
the convinced soul! Sinai's thun- 
ders are now no more. The angry 
God and sin-avenging Judge be- 
comes the sinner's best friend, the 
reconciled God and Fatlier in 
Christ Jesus. Such is the mercy, 
grace, and love that freely fiow in 
Jesus to the last! The poorest 
shall find the most hearty Avel- 
come; for his mercy is free for 
the vilest of the vile.— II. Hill. 



GRACE. 



125 



(bxntt 



The dispensation of grace to 
some is little more than a contin- 
ual combat with corruptions; so 
that, instead of advancing, a man 
seems to be but just able to pre- 
serve himself from sinking. A 
boat with the tide full against it 
does well if it can keep from driv- 
ing back, and must have strong 
force indeed to get forward. TVe 
must estimate grace by the opposi- 
tion which it meets with. — Cecil. 

It is true tliere is no grace, nor 
degree of grace, in believers but 
what is wrought in them by the 
Spirit ; yet generally and regularly 
the increase and growth in grace, 
and their thriving in holiness and 
righteousness, is by diligent atten- 
tion to all those duties of obedi- 
ence which are required of us. 
Upon the whole, it is the most 
ignorant and unreasonable thing 
in the world for any one, under 
pretense of the efficacious work 
of the Spirit, to be negligent in 
duty, since God has inseparably 
connected the means and the end. 

— OWEX. 

If we keep not God's grace that 
he giveth us, if we do not contin- 
ually and daily reform ourselves, 
and with all diligence fashion our 
lives after his life, it is but right 
that we lose again that which we 
have received. But if we abide in 
him through faith, then hard and 
unprofitable things are light and 



possible to us; for in him that 
strengtheneth us we may do all 

things. COVEEDALE. 

It appears to me that the grace 
of God mends the head while it 
converts the heart. It brings the 
mind into such a holy, regular 
frame, that we can know nothing 
of the good of our own existence 
till we exist in God. — R. Hill. 

To MAKE a man a saint, it must 
indeed be by grace ; and whoever 
doubts this does not know what a 
saint is, or a man. — Pascal. 

The greater submission the 
more grace. If there be one hollow 
in the valley lower than another, 
thither the waters gather. — Hall. 

Do ALL you can to stand, and 
then fear lest you may fall, and 
by the grace of God you are safe. 
— ^Edwaeds. 

The grace of God, which so 
powerfully saves from sin, is worth 
a thousand such worlds as this. — 
R. Hill. 

TViTHorT the grace of God in 
your heart you may have the 
worst e\\l that you can have — the 
devil himself may inhabit it. — R. 
Hill. 

Cheistiax tempers are the best 
evidences of real grace; love is 
the fulfilling of the law. It is 
wonderful how much the Bible 



12 G 



GRACE. 



insists upon these things as an 
evidence of the grace of God in 
the heart. — R. Hill. 

Gkace in time will be glorj in 
eternity. 

God will let ns find that grace 
is a gift, not by inheritance. — 
Hall. 

Theee is a great diiference in 
those who are made the subjects 
of grace. Some that are endowed 
with native excellencies, and moral 
before conversion, God adorns 
with heavenly grace, and they 
shine as jewels set in rings of gold. 
This was the case with Moses, 
Isaiah, John, and Paul. Others, 
who have scarcely anything amia- 
ble by nature, or were very im- 
moral before regeneration, are the 
subjects of his love, as Manasseh, 
]Mary ]\ragdalene, and the penitent 
thief. So also there is a great 
difference with respect to abilities 
and circumstances, before some 
were called by grace. Thus Abra- 
ham was rich, but Lazarus was 
poor; Amos, Matthew, and Peter 
Avere plain writers, but Isaiah and 
Paul excellent writers. Moses 
and Paul were bad speakers, but 
Aaron and Apollos were orators. 
In all tliese respects God acts ac- 
cording to his sovereign will, and 
as there is a great variety in his 
works of nature and providence, 
so it seems as if he would have 
the same variety in grace. — De. 
Watts. 



TiiEEE is an essential connec- 
tion, a mutual relation, and a kind 
of perfection, in the work of gi-ace. 
It is a new creation, and like the 
new-born infant, possesses all its 
parts at once, though but in min- 
iature, and time is requisite for 
their growth before many of the 
members can be used. Although 
we come into the world with 
eyes, hands, and feet, these do 
not come into use immediately, or 
at once, but require different de- 
grees of maturity to enable us to 
observe, to handle, and to walk. 
So it is with the new creature ; 
every grace indeed is formed at 
once, but cannot be brought into 
immediate use. It is by a grada- 
tion of experience, and by re- 
peated exercise, that our graces 
are matured. Every converted 
soul has faith, repentance, and 
some degree of illumination and 
sanctification ; but to live in the 
constant exercise of faith and 
repentance, to enjoy daily com- 
fortable communion with God, to 
attain considerable knowledge in 
the sublimer mysteries of the 
Gospel, and to grow more and 
more into the image of Christ's 
holiness, are great attainments, 
and mark the perfection of tlie 
Christian character. Though the 
vrork of grace is essentially the 
same in every subject, and 
wrought by the same power, yet 
there is the like variety in this as 
in all the other works of God. 
Variety is the glory of the divine 
architect. Tberc arc not perhaps 



GRACE — GKATITUDE. 



127 



in all the earth two animals, two 
plants, or even two grains of sand 
perfectly alike; so in the visible 
heavens there is the like diversity, 
one star differeth from another in 
glory. The varieties in a work of 
grace arise either from a difference 
of natural disposition, situation, or 
circumstances, or from the various 
methods which the Lord the 
Spirit iiseth in conversion. One 
thing is particularly observable, 
that much depends upon the order 
and degree in which divine illu- 
mination is communicated to us. 
To some the Lord gives an earlier 
and stronger conviction of their sin 
and danger, while the glory of the 
Saviour is for wise reasons with- 
lield from them. To others the 
Lord makes an immediate and 
full discovery of the Gospel salva- 
tion, which prevents their suffer- 
ing the same degree of distress 
with the former. Some things 
are represented as wholly wrought 
ill us, and some ly us, and yet 
others in different respects are 
represented both as God's work 
and our duty. To instance, 
in regeneration we are passive, 
in good works properly active, 
though faith and repentance are 
both God's gifts and our duty. 
The fact is, these capacities are 
wliolly from God, but we are 
required to use them. Thus in 
these and many other examples 
which might be given respecting 
grace, there is a mutual connec- 
tion and a great variety. — T. 

AYlLLIAMS. 



Grace is of a stirring nature ; 
it will show itself in holiness and 
good works; it will walk with 
you and talk with you in all places 
and companies; it will buy with 
you, and sell with you, and have 
a hand in all your actions. It is 
a sad thing when believers are off 
their guard, when they profess to 
have been on the mount as Moses 
really was, and yet like him they 
no sooner come down than tliey 
turn and break the command- 
ments. A Christian should let 
us see his graces walking abroad 
in his daily conversation, and if 
such guests are in the house, they 
will often look out at the win- 
dows, and be publicly seen abroad 
in all duties and holy actions. — 

GUEXALL. 



When- we have received any 
favor from God we ought to 
retire, if not into our closets, into 
our hearts, and say, "I come, 
Lord, to restore to thee what thou 
hast given; and I freely relinquish 
it to enter again into my nothing- 
ness. For what is the most per- 
fect creature in heaven or earth 
in thy presence but a void capa- 
ble of being filled with the light 
of the sun, who withdraws it 
every day to restore it the next, 
there being nothing in the air that 
either appropriates this light of 
resists it? O give me the same 



128 



GRATITUDE -GRAVE, THE. 



facility of receiving and restoring 
thy grace and good works! I say 
thine, for I acknowledge the root 
from which they spring is in thee, 
and not in me. — John Wesley. 

It is not all who fulfill the 
duties of gratitude who on that 
account may flatter themselves that 
they are grateful. — La Rociiefou- 

CzVULD. 

Geatitude is justly said to be 
the mother of most virtues, be- 
cause that from this one fountain 
so many rivulets arise ; as that of 
reverence unto parents and mas- 
ters, friendship, love to our coun- 
try, and obedience to God. The 
ungrateful are everywhere hated, 
being under a suspicion of every 
vice ; but, on the contrary, grate- 
ful persons are in the estimation 
of all men, having by their grati- 
tude put in a kind of security 
that they are not without a meas- 
ure of every other virtue. — Wax- 
let. 

Although the word gratitude, 
like the word trinity, is not to be 
found in the Bible, yet as the 
sacred Scriptures contain many 
sentiments on each of these sub- 
jects, and these words are the 
most comprehensive to convey the 
ideas, they are well adapted. To 
deliver my thoughts in few words 
on gratitude, I apprehend it in- 
cludes five things : first, a ddep 
and lively sense of benefits re- 
ceived ; secondly, an ardent love 



to and complacency in tlie bene- 
factor; thirdly, an immediate be- 
ginning to make all possible re- 
turns to the donor, either in re- 
paying or else in expressing our 
thankfulness ; fourthly, in a fixed 
purpose of heart to make better 
returns, if ever in our power ; and 
fifthly, a determined resolution to 
retain gratitude for the benefit or 
favors to the end of life. — Rt- 
laxd. 

Who does not enjoy what he 
has with contentment and devout 
gratitude, would be equally igno- 
rant of true happiness had he all 
he could wish for. 

Our thanks should be as fervent 
for mercies received, as our peti- 
tions for mercies asked. 



The grave is the common treas- 
ury to which we must all be 
taxed. — BuEKE. 



The first person that went to 
the grave went to heaven, namely, 
Abel. Although believers are not 
delivered from the stroke of 
death, yet they are from the sting 
of it. The grave is a sleeping- 
house, where the busy and the 
troublesome will shortly be quiet, 
as well as the weary find rest. 
Some have wished in their dying 
hour that they had been lower, 



GRxiVE, THE — GREATXESS — GRIEF. 



129 



but no wise man ever wished him- 
self at the top of earthly honors 
when on the brink of eternity. 
It is said of all mariners, that they 
always sail within four inches of 
death. Every one lives much 
nearer to death ; and as six feet of 
air sustains us while living, so six 
feet of earth AviU contain us when 
dead. Death to a good man, with 
respect to his body, is only put- 
ting otf his clothes to be mended. 
The fear of death is quite natural, 
since no creature dies without a 
struggle, and this fear does not 
prove a person is not a child of 
God. We are not in general fond 
of handling a serpent or a viper, 
even though its sting is drawn, 
and we know it. Never till death 
can a believer sheath his sword 
and cry, "Victory ! victory ! I shall 
never sin again." Young persons 
are taken away by death, old per- 
sons go away by it ; death is be- 
fore the old man's face, but it may 
be he is behind the young man's 
back. — IIenky. 

The grave is a very powerful 
preacher, but needs the all-power- 
ful Spirit to make saving impres- 
sions. 



^xmim^^. 



Geeatness or dignity does not 
so much consist in possessing hon- 
ors as in deserving them. — Aeis- 

TOTLE. 



Geeat names debase instead of 
elevating those who cannot sus- 
tain them. — La Rochefoucauld. 

A SOLEMN and religious regard 
to spiritual and eternal things is 
an indispensable element of all 
true greatness. — Daxiel Webstee. 

The greatest man is he who 
chooses the right with invincible 
resolution ; who resists the sorest 
temptations from within and with- 
out ; who bears the heaviest bur- 
dens cheerfully ; who is calmest 
in storms, and most fearless under 
menace and frowns; and whose 
reliance on truth, on \irtue, and 
on God is most unfaltering. — 
Chaxxixg. 



Every one can master a grief 
but he that has it. — Shakspeaee. 

Yaix is that grief which hath 
no other end than itself. — Hall. 

Geief is not always a sign of 
grace. — Hall. 

So OFTEX as thou remeraberest 
thy sins without grief, so often 
thou repeatest those sins for not 
grieving. He that will not mourn 
for the evil which he hath done, 
gives earnest for the evil he 
means to do. Nothing can as- 
suage that fire which sin hath 
made, but only that water which 



130 



GPwIEF — HABIT. 



repentance hath drawn. — Enchi- 

EIDIOX. 

Alas! I have not words to tell 

my grief; 
To vent my sorrow would be 

some relief; 
Light sufferings give us leisure to 

complain ; 
We groan, we cannot speak, in 

greater pain. Detdex. 

Ix the condition of men it fre- 
quently happens that grief and 
anxiety lie hid nnder the golden 
robes of prosperity, and the gloom 
of calamity is cheered by secret 
radiations of hope and comfort ; 
as in the works of nature the bog 
is sometimes covered with flow- 
ers, and the mine concealed in the 
barren crags. — Johxsox. 

What an argument in favor of 
social connections is the observa- 
tion that by communicating our 
grief we have less, and by com- 
municating our pleasure we have 
more. — Geeville. 

Cheistiax grief for our deceased 
friends is not forbidden in Scrip- 
ture, but we have instances of it. 
Thus, Abraham came to mourn for 
Sarah, and wej)t for her; Joseph 
made a mourning for his father 
seven days; the children of Israel 
wept for Moses thirty days; 
David lamented the death of Saul, 
Jonathan, and Abner; Christ also 
wept over the grave of Lazarus ; 
good men, who carried Stephen to 



his burial, made great lamentation 
over him; and the apostle Paul 
grieved for the sickness of Epaph- 
roditus, who was near unto death ; 
but immoderate sorrow, and all 
the extravagant forms of it are 
forbidden, for we are not to sorrow 
as those who have no hope. Xay, 
even Seneca, the heathen, who had 
some notion of the immortality of 
the soul and the resurrection, says 
thus: "The thought of deceased 
friends is sweet and pleasant to 
me, for I have enjoyed them as 
one that was about to lose them, 
and I have lost them as one that 
may have them again." — De. Gill. 



Habit if not resisted soon be- 
comes necessity. — St. August ixe. 

I KNOW from experience that 
habit can, in direct opposition to 
every conviction of the mind, and 
but little aided by the elements of 
temptation, induce a repetition of 
the most unworthy actions. The 
mind is weak where it has once 
given way. It is long before a 
principle restored can become as 
firm as one that has never' been 
moved. It is as in the case of the 
mound of areservoir : if this mound 
has in one place been broken, 
whatever care has been taken to 
make the repaired part as strong 
as possible, the probability is that 
if it give way again it will be in 
that place. — John Foster. 



IIAIJIT — IIAPPIXESS. 



Ix early cliiklliood you may lay 
the foundation of poverty or rich- 
es, industry or idleness, good or 
evil, by the habits to which you 
train your children. Teach them 
right habits then and their future 
life is safe. 

There are habits, not only of 
drinking, swearing, and lying, and 
of some other things which are 
commonly acknowledged to be 
habits, but of every modification 
of action, speech, and thought. 
Man is a bundle of habits. There 
are habits of industry, attention, 
vigilance, advertency ; of a prompt 
obedience to the judgment occur- 
ring, or of yielding to the first im- 
pulses of passion; of extending 
our views to the future, or of rest- 
ing upon the present ; of appre- 
hending, methodizing, reasoning; 
of indolence, dilatoriness ; of van- 
ity, self-conceit, melancholy, par- 
tiality; of fretfulness, suspicion, 
captiousness, censoriousness ; of 
pride, ambition, covetousness ; of 
overreaching, intriguing, project- 
ing ; in a word, there is not a 
quality or function, either of body 
or mind, which does not feel the 
influence of this great law of ani- 
mated nature. — Paley. 



tented mind confers 

HOEACE. 



it on all.- 



"What you demand is here." 
You traverse the world in search 
of happiness, which is within 
the reach of every man; a con- 



Men of the noblest dispositions 
think themselves happiest when 
others share their happiness with 
them. — Taylor. 

To BE happy the person must be 
cheerful and gay, not gloomy and 
melancholy. A propensity to joy 
is real riches ; one to fear and sor- 
row, real poverty. — Hume. 

To coMMHsncATE happiness is 
worthy the ambition of beings 
superior to man, for it is a first 
principle of action with the 
author of all existence. It was 
God that taught it as a virtue, 
and it is God that gives the ex- 
ample. — Laxghorxe. 

He is happy whose circum- 
stances suit his temper; but he is 
more excellent who can suit his 
temper to any circumstances. — 
Hume. 

The first happiness of a man is 
not to sin at all ; the second is to 
be sensible and sorry for his sin. — 
St. Chrysostom. 

Thixk no mortal happy until 
the end of life shall find him no 
sufierer. — Sophocles. 

If happiness has not her seat and 

center in the breast, 
"We may be wise, or rich, or great, 

but never can be blest. ^ 

BURXS. 



133 



HAPPINESS. 



To BE good is to be happy. 
Angels are happier than men be- 
cause they are better. 

RowE. 

ISTo MAN is happy who does not 
think himself so ; for what does it 
signify how exalted your position 
may be if it appears to you unde- 
sirable. — Sexec A . 

Fixed to no spot is happiness sin- 
cere; 

'Tis nowhere to be found or every- 
where. Pope. 

St. Chrysostom makes a fine 
reflection upon the publicans go- 
ing to find John Baptist in the 
wilderness, and saying to him, 
" Master, what shall we do ?'' You 
have everything in abundance, 
and you come to the school of a 
hermit, who has nothing, to learn 
to be happy ; you are full of rich- 
es, and yet would learn of a poor 
man the way to come to true 
happiness. 

"Whatever happiness is enjoyed 
in this world, a man is not al- 
ways sensible that he is happy. 
Should a miserable slave on a 
sudden be set on a throne after he 
has long groaned in chains, he 
will indeed taste great pleasure in 
the beginning of his reign, but his 
joy will lessen in time; at last he 
will be used to his fortune, and 
use by degrees will take away 
from him the sense of it. The 
happiness of the holy is difierent; 



the more that is possessed the 
more 'tis perceived. We are never 
used to that, and so far is the joy 
from diminishing that it always 
increases. — St. Chrtsostom. 

Hardly a man, whatever his 
circumstances and situation, but if 
you get his confidence will tell 
you that he is not happy. It is 
liowever certain all men are not 
unhappy in the same degree, 
though by these accounts we 
might almost be tempted to think 
so. Is not this to be accounted 
for by supposing that all men 
measure the happiness tliey pos- 
sess by the happiness they desire, 
or think they deserve ? — Greville. 

Mex love difierent things ; and 
when any one enjoys what he loves 
he is thought happy. But true hap- 
piness doth not consist in enjoying 
what is loved, but in loving what 
ought to be loved. Several are 
more miserable in possessing the 
objects of their love than in not 
possessing them ; they are miser- 
able through the love of wicked 
things, and more so by the enjoy- 
ment of these things themselves. 
God does us a favor when he re- 
fuses us what we love against his 
will ; but he punishes us, he in a 
terrible manner revenges himself, 
when he gives us our wicked de- 
sire. — St. Austin. 

'Tis a great happiness not to be 
able to hurt our neighbor, and 
not to have wit enough to do mis- 
chief. The skill of the men of the 



IIAPPTXESS. 



133 



world consists in knowing how to 
do an injury and to revenge one. 
But not to render evil for evil is 
the property of Christian modera- 
tion, and of a child of Christ. — 
St. Leox. 

Such is the condition of life that 
something is always wanting to 
happiness. In youth we have 
wavm hopes, which are soon 
blasted by rashness and negli- 
gence; and great designs, which 
are defeated by inexperience. In 
age we have knowledge and pru- 
dence, without spirit to exert or 
motives to prompt them ; we are 
able to plan schemes and regulate 
measures, but have not time re- 
maining to bring them to comple- 
tion. — JOHXSOX. 

Beware what earth calls happi- 
ness ; beware 

All joys but joys that never can 
expire ; 

Who builds on less than an im- 
mortal base. 

Fond as he seems, condemns his 
joys to death. Youxg. 

HAPPINESS ! our being's end and 

aim; 
Good, pleasure, ease, content, — 

whate'er thy name : 
That something still which 

prompts th' eternal sigh, 
For which we bear to live, or 

dare to die. 
Which still so near us, yet beyond 

us lies. 
Overlooked, seen double, by the 

fool and wise : 



Plant of celestial seed I if dropped 

below, 

Say in what mortal soil thou 

deign'st to grow ! Pope. 

Happy the people who have 
God for their Lord and for their 
portion. All men love happiness ; 
they are willing to be wicked, but 
they are not willing to be misera- 
ble. You ask why this man com- 
mits a theft. 'Tis to avoid hunger 
that pinches him ; 'tis to get out 
of the necessity he is reduced to ; 
so that he is wicked for fear of 
being unhappy, without consider- 
ing that he is yet more unhappy 
because he is wicked. Yet when 
you are happy you are doubtless 
better than when you are misera- 
ble ; therefore a thing worse than 
you cannot make you better. You 
are a man : gold, silver, all those 
other sensible objects that you so 
earnestly seek, are less valuable 
than man. Seek that which is 
better than you, in order to be- 
come better than you are. What 
is this object but your God ? After 
having given you all created things, 
he reserves himself for you. Ask 
something else of him, if you can 
find anything better. — St. Austin. 

That wherein God himself is 
happy, the holy angels are happy, 
in whose defects the devils are 
unhappy, that dare I call happi- 
ness. Whatsoever conduceth unto 
this may with an easy metaphor 
deserve that name; whatsoever 
else the world term happiness, is 



13-4 



IIAPPIXESS. 



to me a story out of Pliny ; an ap 
parition of neat delusion, whereiu 
there is no more of liappiness than 
the name. Bless me in this life 
with but peace of my conscience, 
command of my affections, the 
love of thyself and my dearest 
friends, and I shall be liappy 
enough to pity Cesar. These are, 

Lord, the humble desires of my 
most reasonable ambition, and all 

1 dare call happiness on earth 
wherein I set no rule or limit to 
thy hand or providence, dispose 
of me according to the wisdom of 
thy pleasure. Thy will be done 
though in my own undoing. 

There are three principal rea- 
sons why so many do not enjoy as 
much happiness as they might: 
first, because they expect too much 
here below. Many of the most 
pious and sensible have been con- 
tented, but no one ever said he 
w^as completely happy. If we have 
religion and wealth, two of the 
most likely things to make us com- 
fortable, perhaps we want health 
of body ; and if we even possess 
that, some enemies or relations 
trouble us : all this is designed to 
teach us that the world is not our 
home. Another thing that keeps 
us unhappy is looking up with 
envy at those above us. Wo fancy 
others must be more happy be- 
cause they are more rich, more 
healthy, or have not so many ene- 
mies, though perhaps if we knew 
all things respecting them we would 
not change with them ; but we 



should more frequently think of 
those below us, who are in hospi- 
tals, in poor-houses, or prisons, 
that are either in extreme poverty, 
or blind, lame, dumb, insane, or 
under public disgrace. Lastly, we 
are frequently unhappy because 
we will not be satisfied with sim- 
plicity. The brute creation seem 
in general contented and happy; 
but man is not content with na- 
ture, but must have recourse to 
art and luxury to give him satis- 
faction ; and if he has not as much 
of these as his neighbors or ac- 
quaintances, he seems to be determ- 
ined to be unhappy. But let us 
consider how few are our real 
wants. If we have our liberty and 
any share of health, we have the 
principal requisites of natural hap- 
piness; and if, besides this, we 
have grace and the influence of 
the Spirit, we may be called happy 
persons. — De. Knox. 

True happiness is of a retired 
nature, and an enemy to pomp 
and noise. It arises, in the first 
place, from the enjoyment of one's 
self; and in the next, from the 
friendship and conversation of a 
few select companions. It loves 
shade and solitude, and naturally 
haunts groves and fountains, fields 
and meadows; in short, it feels 
everything it wants within itself, 
and receives no addition from nml- 
titudes of witnesses and spectators. 
On the contrary, false liappiness 
loves to be in a crowd, and to 
draw the eyes of the world upon 



IIAPPIXESS. 



13 



her. She does not receive any sat- 
isfaction from the apphmse which 
she gives herself, but from the ad- 
miration which she raises in oth- 
ers. She floiirislies in courts and 
palaces, theaters and assemblies, 
and has no existence but when she 
is looked upon. — Addisox. 

Happiness and misery are the 
names of two extremes, the ut- 
most bounds whereof we know 
not ; but of some degrees of both 
we have many lively impressions, 
by delight on the one side and sor- 
row on the other, and therefore 
we may distinguish them by the 
names of pleasure and pain. Ila])- 
piness in its full extent is the ut- 
most pleasure we are capable of, 
and the lowest degree of it is so 
much ease from all pain, and so 
much pleasure, as without which 
one cannot be content; we there- 
fore judge that whoever is con- 
tented is happy. — Locke. 

I SEE in this world two heaps, 
one of hajjpiness and the other of 
misery. Now if I can take but 
the smallest bit from the second 
and add it to the first, I carry a 
point. I should be glad indeed to 
do great things, but I will not 
neglect such little ones as this. — 
John IsTewton. 

Mex say we must be honest ; it 
is our duty. But they think there 
is no duty about being happy any 
more than about having fine weath- 
er. The weather is just as it hap- 



pens, and so they suppose it is 
about happiness. But I tell you 
there is no more positive command 
in the Bible than this reiterated 
one: '^Eejoice in the Lord always : 
and again I say, Eejoice." And this 
rejoicing is not to be in pleasure 
and profit, in good prospects, or in 
sunny days, but "in the Lord;'' 
a joy that shall be independent 
of circumstances; a joy that men 
shall be obliged to confess must 
come of religion. A Christian is 
indeed allowed to rejoice where 
other men can; but he is bound 
to rejoice where other men can- 
not. — H. W. Beeciier. 

A ?JAN who finds his happiness 
in doing good, always has the 
means of happiness at command. 

Teue happiness is at our side, 
and we pass her by; while mis- 
fortune is far oft", and we rush to 
meet her. 

Six things are requisite to create 
a " happy home." Integrity must 
be the architect, and tidiness the 
upholsterer. It must be warmed 
by afiection, lighted up with cheer- 
fulness ; and industry must be the 
ventilator, renewing the atmos- 
phere and bringing in fresh sa- 
lubrity day by day; while over 
all, as a protecting canopy and 
glory, nothing will suffice except 
the blessings of God. — Hamilton. 

If you cannot be happy in one 
way, be in another ; and this facil- 



136 



IIAPriXESS — IIATKED — HEALTH. 



ity of disposition wants but little 
aid from philosophy, for health and 
good-humor are almost the Avhole 
aifair. Many run about after felic- 
ity, like an absent man hunting for 
his hat, while it is in his hand or on 
his head. — Siiaep. 

Teue happiness is a roadside- 
flower, growing on the highways 
of usefulness. 



iatnir. 



"Whex our hatred is too keen 
it places us beneath those we hate. 

La BoOHEFOrCAULD. 

We are more inclined to hate 
one another for points on which 
we differ than to love one another 
for points on which we agree. 
The reason perhaps is this: when 
we find others that agree with us, 
we seldom trouble ourselves to 
confirm that agreement; but when 
we chance on those that differ 
with us, we are zealous both to 
convince and to convert them. 
Our pride is hurt by the failure, 
and disappointed pride engenders 
hatred. — Coltox. 

It is more delightful and com- 
panionable to love and be loved, 
than to be habitually "hateful 
and hating one another;" and if 
parents desire to have their chil- 
dren avoid the latter, they must 
cultivate cheerfulness, and dis- 
countenance murmurs and evil 



speaking during their forming 



If there is any person you dis- 
like, that is the person of whom 
you ought never to speak. — 
Cecil. 

Weee one to ask me in which 
direction I think man strongest, I 
should say in his capacity to hate. 
— H. W. Beechee. 



blessed health! thou art 
above all gold and treasure, j 'Tis 
thou who enlargest the soul, and 
openest all its powers to receive 
instruction and to relish virtue. 
He that has thee has little more 
to wish for; and he that is so 
wretched as to want tliee, wants 
everything with thee. — Steexe. 

What a mercy it is to enjoy 
health if we are but enabled to 
enjoy it to the glory of God. — R. 
Hill. 

Health is so necessary to all 
the duties of life, as well as the 
pleasures of life, that the crime of 
squandering it is equal to the folly ; 
and he that for a short gratifica- 
tion brings weakness and diseases 
upon himself, and for the pleasure 
of a few years passed in the tu- 
mults of diversion and clam- 
ors of merriment, condemns the 
maturer and more experienced 



HEALTH. 



137 



part of his life to the chamber and 
the conch, maj be justly re- 
proached, not only as a spend- > 
thrift of his own happiness, but 
as a robber of the public; as a 
wretch that lias voluntarily dis- 
qualified himself for the business 
of his station, and refused that 
part which Providence assigns 
hira in the general task of human 
nature. — Johxsox. 

Tjieee is no earthly blessing 
so precious as health of body, 
without which all other worldly 
good things are but troublesome. 
Neither is there anything more 
difficult than to have a good soul 
in a strong and vigorous body, 
for it is commonly seen that the 
worse part draws away the better. 
But to have a healthful and sound 
soul in a weak, sickly body is no 
novelty, while the weakness of the 
body is a help to the soul, playing 
the part of a perpetual monitor to 
incite it to good and check it for 
evil. I will not be over-glad of 
health, nor over-fearful of sickness. 
I will more fear the spiritual hurt 
that may follow upon health, than 
the bodily pain that accompanies 
sickness. — Hall. 

LiTEEAEY and sedentary persons 
should, for the preservation of 
their health, not only live very 
temperately and take exercise in 
the open air, but attend to a 
proper posture in reading or 
working. Students should stand 
or sit upright while studying; and 



those whose occupations require 
bending the body should do it as 
little as possible, and especially 
guard their breast, that nothing 
can lean much against it. — Dr. 

TiSSOT. 

The prevention of diseases is of 
greater consequence for the full 
enjoyment of health than the cur- 
ing of thera. For this purpose 
let every one that has any value 
for his health avoid excess, either 
in eating or drinking, and also 
avoid late hours, and let him ac- 
custom himself to early rising 
and much exercise, — De. Aebue- 



Health is the harmony of all 
the animal powers, and it consists 
in a right proportion, quality, and 
temperature of all the fluids, and 
in the soundness, strength, and 
elasticity of all the solids to perform 
their functions; and to render 
health complete the passions of 
the mind must be kept in due 
order, and a cheerful disposition 
encouraged. — De. Geosvexor. 



O joyful, pleasant, happy health ; 

The monarch's bliss, the beggar's 
wealth ; 

thou most courted, most de- 
spised. 

And but in absence truly prized ; 

Thou common friend of joy or 
woe. 

Thou seasoner of good below. 

Mallet. 



IIKART — llEAVEX. 



f)mt. 



A HEART in heaven will be a 
most excellent preservation against 
sin. It will keep the heart well 
employed. When we are idle, we 
tempt the devil to tempt us, as 
careless persons make thieves. — 
Baxter. 

SoMETHESTG- must be left as a 
test of the loyalty of the heart. 
In Paradise, the tree ; in Israel, a 
Canaanite; in us, temptation. — 
Cecil. 

The first sure symptoms of a mind 

in health 
Is rest of heart, and pleasure felt 

at home. Young. 

Every one speaks well of his 
heart, but no one dares to do so 
of his head. — La Rochefoucauld. 

Our heart is a well of bitter 
and venomous water, our actions 
are the streams. In vain shall 
we cleanse our hands while our 
hearts are evil. — Hall. 

There is no secret in the heart 
which our actions do not disclose. 
The most consummate hypocrite 
cannot at all times conceal the 
workings of the mind. 

A SOFT heart is the best tem- 
pered for God. — Hall. 

There is in every human heart 
Some not completely barren part 



Where seeds of love and truth 

might grow, 
And flowers of generous virtue 

blow. 
To plant, to watch, to water 

there, 
This be our duty, this our care. 



As RIVERS cannot rest till they 
come into the sea, so renewed 
souls cannot be fully satisfied till 
they come to heaven. — Flavel. 

Heaven is worth dying for, the 
earth is not worth living for. 

If the way to heaven be narrow, 
it is not long ; and if the gate be 
strait, it opens into endless life. — 
Bishop Beveridge. 

God has given us two hints 
what heaven is to be. First, we 
are to see Christ; and second, we 
are to be like him. — R. Hill. 

Heaven is a day without a 
cloud to darken it, and without a 
night to end it. In heaven there 
is the presence of all good, and 
the absence of all evil. As heaven 
is kept for the saints by Christ, so 
they are kept for heaven by the 
Spirit. If we live with God here 
below, we shall live with him 
above ; we must change our place, 
but not our employment. In 
heaven, all God's servants will be 
abundantly satisfied with his deal- 



IIEAYEX. 



139 



ings and dispensations, and see 
Low all conduced, like so many 
winds, to bring tlieni to their 
haven, and how even the roughest 
blast helped to bring them home- 
ward. In heaven God will never 
hide his face, and Satan never 
show his, Grace and glory differ, 
but as the bud and the blossom ; 
grace is glory begun, and glory 
is grace perfected. "VYe may 
hope for a place in heaven if 
our hearts are made suitable 
to the state of heaven. — J. 
Maso:?^. 

Ix heaven shall be all the ob- 
jects that the saints have set their 
hearts upon, and which, above all 
things, they loved while in this 
world : the things which met the 
approbation of their judgments, 
and captivated their affections, 
and drew away their souls from 
the most pleasant and dear of 
earthly objects. All the truly 
great and good, all the pure and 
holy and excellent from this world, 
and, it may be, from every part of 
the universe, are constantly tend- 
ing toward heaven. As the 
streams tend to the ocean, so all 
these are tending to the great 
ocean of infinite purity and bliss. 
The progress of time does but bear 
them on to its blessedness; and 
us, if we are holy, to be united to 
them there. Every gem which 
death rudely tears away from us 
here is a glorious jewel forever 
shining there. Every Christian 
friend that goes before us from 



this world is a ransomed spirit, 
waiting to welcome us in heaven, 
— Pkesidext Edwaeds. 

Ix heaven there is all life and 
no dying ; in hell is all death and 
no life. In earth there is both 
living and dying; which as it is 
between both, so it prepares for 
both. So that he which here be- 
low dies to sin, doth after live in 
heaven; and, contrarily, he that 
lives in sin upon earth, dies in 
hell afterward. What if I have 
no part of joy here below, but 
still succession of afflictions! The 
wicked have no part in heaven, 
and yet they enjoy the earth 
with pleasure. I would not 
change portions with them. I re- 
joice that, seeing I cannot have 
both, yet I have the better. 
Lord, let me pass both my 
deaths here upon earth! I care 
not how I live or die, so I may 
have nothing but life to look 
for in another world. — Bishop 
Hall. 

EvEET saint in heaven is as a 
flower in the garden of God, and 
holy love is the fragrance and 
sweet odor that they all send 
forth, and with which they fill the 
bowers of that paradise above. 
Every soul there is as a note in 
some concert of delightful music, 
that sweetly harmonizes with 
every other note, and all together 
blend in the most rapturous strains 
in praising God and the Lamb 
fore ver. — Edwaeds. 



uo 



HELL — HOUXESS — HOLY SPIEIT. 



TTnAT fits for hell, in a measure 
is lielL God suits our punish- 
ments to our crimes. No people 
are so tortured as those who pos- 
sess Satanic minds. — R. Hill. 



HoLiXESs is the perfection, holi- 
ness is the very heaven of God; and 
you and I have heaven restored 
to us just as far as the image of 
God is restored to our minds. 
Believing in him, we are changed 
into the same image; and, being 
thus redeemed, we are enabled to 
rejoice " with joy which is un- 
speakable and full of glory." It 
is a grand truth, therefore, that as 
God is infinitely holy in himself, 
he must be so also in his own law. 
— R. Hill. 



P0I5 Spirit. 

How DOTH the Holy Spirit re- 
veal unto us anything spiritual, 
but especially the truth of the 
Scriptures? I answer, by remov- 
ing those, impediments that hin- 
der, and bestowing those graces 
that make us capable of tliis 
knowledge. . . . There is in us a 
twofold impediment : first, igno- 
rance, by which our eyes are 
closed, that we cannot see the 
light ; secondly, corruption, by 
whieli, tliough we see the light, 



yet we cannot but naturally liate 
it and turn from it. The Holy 
Si)irit cures both by a double 
remedy: first, of illumination, re- 
storing our understanding to some 
part of its primitive perfection; 
secondly, of sanctification, infus- 
ing into our desires and affections 
some degrees of their primitive 
holiness and purity. — Pemble. 

Brx it may be said if all graces 
in us, in all their degrees and 
effects, are ascribed to the Holy 
Spirit, then there is no need to 
use our endeavors, and to take 
any pains about the growth of 
holiness, or the duties of obedi- 
ence ; but he who can indulge 
himself in sloth on account of the 
promised assistance of the Spirit 
may look upon it as a certain evi- 
dence that he has ncf interest in it ; 
for where he opei'ates he stirs \\\) 
the soul to diligence in duty, and 
works in and by the faculties of 
our mind. Thus the Holy Spirit 
so worketh in us that he worketh 
by us, and what he does in us is 
done by us. This, therefoi-e, we 
ought to know, that what God 
prescribes we should with all dili- 
gence and earnestness, as we value 
our souls and our eternal interest, 
endeavor to comply with. He is 
no Christian who does not i)ray 
that God would work in him what 
he requires of him, and though it 
is his work to enable us to per- 
form what is good, yet it is our 
duty diligently to use the means. 

OWEX. 



HOLY SPIKIT. 



Ul 



ScRiPTUKE can only be savingly 
understood by the ilhiinination of 
the Holy Sph-it. The Gospel is a 
picture of God's free grace to sin- 
ners. Now, were we in a room 
hung with the finest paintings, and 
ailorned with the most exquisite 
statues, we could not see one of 
them if all light were excluded. 
The Spirit's light is the same to the 
mind that outward light is to the 
bodily eyes. The most correct 
and lively description of the sun 
cannot convey either the light, 
the warmth, the cheerfulness, or 
the fruitfulness, which the actual 
shining of that luminary conveys ; 
neither can the most labored and 
accurate dissertation on grace and 
spiritual things impart a true idea 
of them without an experience of 
the work of the Spirit upon the 
heart. The Holy Spirit must 
shine upon your graces, or you 
will not be able to see them; 
and your works must shine upon 
your faith, or your neighbors 
will not be able to see it. — Top- 
lady. 

'We can do nothing good with- 
out the Holy Spirit. The illumin- 
ation of the Spirit is twofold: 
first, external, by that revelation 
which he hath given us of God's 
will in the Bible, for holy men 
wrote as they were inspired ; and 
secondly, internal, which con- 
sists in impressing what is there 
written upon our understanding 
and hearts, whereby we are ena- 
bled savingly to perceive and be- 



lieve it. AVe do not suppose that 
generally the Spirit illuminates 
the mind with any new truths or 
new evidences of truth, but only 
applies those old and precious 
truths and evidences which he at 
first revealed ; yet there is no 
doubt but that he continues to 
urge and repeat them with more 
and more eflicac}^ so that we ap- 
prehend them more distinctly, and 
receive greater comfort from them 
as we grow in grace. Our knowl- 
edge and belief therefore of divine 
things, so far as they are saving 
and effectual to our renovation, 
are the fruits and products of 
this internal illumination. — De. 
Scott. 

The descent of the Holy Spirit 
on the apostles is generally sup- 
posed to have been about the fifti- 
eth day from the resurrection of 
Christ, the latter end of May, and 
about nine o'clock in the morning. 
Now, on this day, let us view them 
all humbly waiting at the foot- 
stool of God's throne, in obedience 
to their Master's command, and in 
full expectation of the fulfillment 
of his promise, perfectly in the use 
of their reason, and feeling a sweet 
unanimity and love among them- 
selves. And, behold! how sud- 
denly they were all filled with the 
Holy Spirit. Here were twelve 
apostles and seventy disciples, 
with thirty-eight other Chris- 
tians, which am(^unted to one 
hundred and twenty of the faith- 
ful followers of Christ. The apos- 



Uii 



HOME — HONESTY. 



ties and disciples were poor illiter- 
ate men, who had never been at 
any college of learning in their 
lives, and yet in a moment they 
were enabled to speak with fluency 
and propriety no less than fifteen 
languages, and were capable of ad- 
dressing these different nations in 
their respective tongues; and in 
these languages of the East, the 
West, the North, and tlje South, 
they proclaim the wonderful 
Avorks of redemption and salva- 
tion. Let us contemplate with 
the utmost veneration this illus- 
trious day, and glory in such a 
clear evidence of the truth and ex- 
cellency of the Christian religion. 
— Ryland. 



Home, the spot of earth supremely 

blest, 
A dearer, sweeter spot than all 

the rest. Montgomery. 

^ViiAT a man is at home, that 
he is indeed, if not to the world, 
yet to his own conscience and to 
God. — Philip. 

Home can never be transferred, 
never repeated in the experience 
of an individual. The place con- 
secrated by paternal love, by the 
innocence and sports of childhood, 
and by the first acquaintance of 
the heart with nature, is the only 
true home. 



Every Egyptian was com- 
manded by law annually to declare 
by what means he maintained him- 
self, and if he omitted to do it, or 
gave no satisfactory account of his 
way of living, he was punishable 
with death. This law Solon brought 
from Egypt to Athens, where it 
was inviolably observed as a most 
equitable regulation. — Herodotus. 

Let lionesty be as the breath of 
thy soul, and never forget to have 
a penny when ail thy expenses are 
enumerated and paid. Then shalt 
thou reach the point of happiness, 
and independence shall be thy 
shield and buckler, thy helmet and 
crown ; then shall thy soul walk 
upright, nor stoop to the silken 
wretch because he hath riches, 
nor pocket an abuse because the 
hand which offers it wears a ring 
set with diamonds. — Feaxklin. 

They that cry down moral 
honesty cry down that which is a 
great part of my religion, my 
duty toward God and my duty 
toward man. TVhat care I to see 
a man run after a sermon, if he 
cozens and cheats as soon as he 
comes home. On the other side, 
morality must not be without 
religion, for if so it may change as 
I see convenience. Religion must 
govern it. He that has not relig- 
ion to govern his morality is not 
a dram better than my mastiff 
dog. So long as you stroke him, 
and please him, and do not pinch 



IIOXESTY — IIOXOR. 



143 



liim, he ^vill play witli you as 
finely as may be ; he is a very 
good moral mastiff. But if you 
hurt him he will fly in your 
face, and tear out your throat. — 
Seldex. 

He that will give himself to all 
manner of ways to get money may 
be rich ; so he that lets fly all he 
knows or thinks may by chance be 
satirically witty. Honesty some- 
times keeps a man from growing 
rich, and civility from being witty. 
— Seldex. 



To be ambitious of true honor, 
of the true glory and perfection 
of our natures, is the very princi- 
ple and incentive of virtue ; but 
to be ambitious of titles, of place, 
of ceremonial respects and civil 
pageantry, is as vain and little as 
the things we court. — Sir Philip 
Sidney. 

A NOBLE proof of honor they 

afford 
Who hold their lives less sacred 

than their word. Kane. 

Look well before thou leap 
into the chair of honor. The 
higher thou climbest, the lower 
thou fallest. If virtue prefer thee, 
virtue will preserve thee ; if gold 
or favor advance thee, thy honor 
is but pinned upon the wheel of 
fortune; when the wheel shall 

10 



turn thy honor falls, and thou re- 
mainest an everlasting monument 
of thy own ambitious folly. — 

QCAELES. 

Theee is nothing honorable 
that is not innocent. He that 
acts in a virtuous and beneficial 
manner toward society, according 
to his abilities, circumstances, and 
station in life, is an honorable 
person ; but false notions of honor 
prove the depravity of human 
nature by calling that honor which 
is in reality nothing but pride. 
The sense of honor is of so fine 
and so delicate a nature that it is 
only to be met with in noble 
minds, or in such as have been 
cultivated by good examples, or a 
refined education ; but as this 
excellent principle is much mis- 
understood and abused, we shall 
consider it, first, with respect to 
those who have right notions of 
it. True honor, though it is not 
always connected with religion, 
yet is similar to it, and produces 
the same effects. Thus the relig- 
ious man fears to do an ill action, 
and the man of honor scorns to 
do it ; the man of religion consid- 
ers vice as forbidden by God, and 
the man of honor thinks it un- 
becoming and beneath him. Sec- 
ondly, if we consider it with 
regard to those who have mistaken 
notions of honor, such persons 
establish anything to be a point 
of honor which is contrary to the 
laws of God and their country. 
For instance, they are more for 
revenge than forgiveness ; they 



144 



HONOR — HOPE. 



scruple not to tell lies, yet would 
kill any one in a duel who accuses 
them of so doing; in short, the 
man of honor, in the ideas of 
the fashionable world, is, in the 
sight of God and virtuous per- 
sons, a haughty, revengeful char- 
acter, totally void of real religion. 
Thirdly, it is greatly to be la- 
mented that there are some who 
liave no honor at all. These are 
rather openly immoral or hypo- 
critical persons. But whatever 
wealth and dignities they may ar- 
rive at, yet they are a disgrace to 
society, and should be carefully 
avoided by all serious and virtuous 
persons. In a very particular 
manner, all who have the care and 
education of youth should keep 
those under their tuition from 
being corrupted by the company 
and example of such dangerous 
persons, who have no regard to 
their honor. — Gfaedian. 

HoxoR was made for honesty, 
integrity, and virtue ; and though 
deceit, dishonesty, and unright- 
eousness have stolen and appro- 
priated it, justice and judgment 
will, ere long, take it from them 
and restore it to its proper 
owners. 



Wop- 

Hope and fear, like Hippocrates' 
twins, should live and die togeth- 
er. If hope depart from fear, it 
travels by security and lodges in 
I)resumption ; if fear depart from 



I hope, it travels to infidelity and 
inns in despair. The one shuts up 
heaven, the otiier opens hell ; the 
one makes thee insensible of God's 
frowns, the other incapable of 
God's favors, and both teach God 
to be unmerciful, and thee to be 
miserable. — Quarles. 

Without hope everything lan- 
guishes among men. Arts are 
neglected, no virtues are exer- 
cised. Take away hope, all per- 
ishes, all dies. "What does a 
schohir do with a master that 
teaches him, if he hopes nothing 
from his study? Why does the 
pilot expose his vessel to tempests 
at sea if he does not expect to 
arrive at port? Why does the 
soldier despise not only the rigors 
of winter and the heat of summer, 
but his own life also, but because 
he is animated with the hope of 
glory? Why does the laborer 
scatter his grain if he does not 
hope the recompense of his labor 
in a plentiful harvest? Why does 
the Christian believe in Christ if 
he does not hope one day to pos- 
sess the eternal happiness that 
Christ has promised him? — St. 
Zexox of Verona. 

Hope rules a land forever green : 
iVll powers that serve the bright- 
eyed queen 
Are confident and gay ; 
Clouds at her bidding disappear ; 
Points she to aught? the bliss 
draws near, 
And fancy smooths the way. 
Wordsworth. 



iiurE. 



U5 



IfEVEE quit jour hopes. Hope 
is often better than enjoyment. 
It is certainly a very pleasant and 
healthy passion. A hopeless per- 
son is deserted by himself, and he 
who forsakes himself is soon for- 
saken by his friends and fortune. 
— Beekeley. 

Hope holds up the head of 
our holy desires, and perseverance 
crowns them. — Hall. 

Hope is the last thing that dies 
in man. — Diogexes. 

• Mex more easily set bounds to 
their gratitude than to their hopes 
or their desires. — La Eochefou- 

CArLD. 

Hope humbly then; with trem- 
bling pinions soar ; 
"Wait the great teacher, Death, 

and God adore : 
"What future bliss he gives not 

thee to know, 
But gives that hope to be thy 

blessing now. 
Hope springs eternal in the human 

breast : 
Man never is, but always to be 

blest ; 
The soul, uneasy, and confined 

from home, 
Rests and expatiates in a life to 

come. Pope. 

Auspicious hope! in thy sweet 

garden grow 
Wreaths for each toil, a charm for 

every woe: 



Won by their sweets, in Xature's 
languid hour, 

The way-worn pilgrim seeks thy 
summer bower ; 

There, as the wild bee murmurs 
on the wing. 

What peaceful dreams thy hand- 
maid spirits bring ! 

What viewless forms th' ^ilolian 
organ play. 

And sweep the furrowed lines of 
anxious thought away ! 

A LIVING hope, living in death 
itself. The world dares say no 
more for its device than clum spiro 
spero^ while I breathe I hope; 
but the children of God can add, 
by virtue of this living hope, dum 
expiro Bpero^ while I expire I 
hope. — Leightox. 

Hope to the soul is as an anch- 
or to a ship in a dark night on 
an unknown coast, and amid a 
boisterous ocean. It is the most 
eminent of all the advantages 
which religion now confers, as it 
is the universal comforter ; and in- 
deed if it were entertained with 
that full persuasion which faith 
demands, it would banish discon- 
tent, extinguish grief, and render 
life much more pleasant than it 
generally is. — De. Blaie. 

The poet Hesiod tells us that 
the miseries of all mankind were 
included in a great box, and that 
Pandora took oif the hd of it, by 
which means all of them came 
abroad, and only Hope remained 



UCi 



HOPE — HUMANITY — HUMILITY. 



at the bottom. Hope tlien is the 
principal antidote whicli keeps our 
heart from bursting under the 
pressure of evils, and is that flat- 
tering mirror that gives us a pros- 
pect of some greater good. Some 
call hope the manna from heaven, 
that comforts us in all extremi- 
ties ; others, the pleasant flatterer 
that caresses the unhappy with 
expectations of happiness in the 
bosom of futurity. When all 
other things fail us, hope stands 
by us to the last. This, as it 
were, gives freedom to the cap- 
tive when chained to the oar, 
health to the sick, victory to the 
defeated, and wealth to the beggar. 
— Waxley. 

Hope is a flatterer, but the most 
upright of all parasites, for she 
frequents the poor man's hut, as 
well as the palace of his superior. 

SnENSTOXE. 

The understanding of a man 
naturally sanguine may be easily 
vitiated by the luxurious indul- 
gence of hope, as some plants are 
destroyed by too open an exposure 
to that sun which gives light and 
beauty to the vegetable world. — 
Johnson. 



HuMAisriTT cannot be degraded 
by humiliation. It is its very 
character to submit to such things. 
There is a consanccuinitv between 



benevolence and humility. They 
are virtues of the same stock. — 

BUEKE. 



Humility alone unites patience 
with love, without which it is 
impossible to draw profit from 
suffering; or, indeed, to avoid 
complaint, especially when we 
think we have given no occasion 
for what men make us suffer. — 
John Wesley. 

As LONG as I study and practice 
humility I know where I am ; but 
when I hunt after dignities, lux- 
ury, and pride, I am afraid that I 
shall lose myself. — Cleobulus. 

Humility is truth, and Pride a 
lie: the one glorifies God, the other 
dishonors him. Humility makes 
men to be like angels. Pride 
makes angels to become devils. — 
Taylor. 

Humility is the true proof of 
Christian virtues. Without it we 
retain all our faults, and they are 
only hidden by pride, which con- 
ceals them from others, and often 
from ourselves. — La Eochefou- 



Tkue humility consists in being 
very deserving and hardly esteem- 
ing ourselves ; and to be properly 
humble is to have great merit 
without pride. — St. Ciikysostom. 



HUMILITY. 



l-i7 



Humility and patience are the 
surest proofs of the increase of 
love. — John Wesley. 

If thou desire the love of God 
and man be humble, for the proud 
heart, as it loves none but itself, 
so it is beloved of none but by it- 
self. The voice of humility is 
God's music, and the silence of 
humility is God's rhetoric. Hu- 
mility enforces where neither vir- 
tue nor strength can prevail, nor 
reason. — Exchieidion. 

XoTHixG procures love like 
humility, nothing hate like pride. 
The proud man walks among 
daggers pointed against him, 
whereas the humble and affable 
have the people for their guard in 
dangers. To be humble to our su- 
periors is duty; to our equals, 
courtesy; to our inferiors, gen- 
erosity ; and these notwithstand- 
ing their lowliness, carry such a 
sway as to command men's hearts. 
— OwEX Feltham. 

True humility is a kind of self- 
annihilation, and this is the center 
of all virtues. — J. Wesley. 

Humility must be a glorious 
thing, since pride itself puts it on 
not to be despised. Pride must 
be of itself something deformed 
and shameful, since it dares not 
show itself naked, and it is forced 
to appear in a mask. — St. Ber- 
nard. 



The nettle grows rather high, 
while the violet is low and almost 
obscured by leaves, but chiefly 
discovered by its fragrance. The 
former is emblematical of a proud 
person, but the latter resembles 
one that is truly humble. — De. 
Maxtox. 

Humility is the vital principle 
of Christianity, that principle by 
which from first to last she lives 
and thrives, and in proportion to 
the growth or decline of which 
she must decay or flourish. This 
disposes the sinner in deep self- 
abasement to believe in the 
Saviour; this, during his whole 
progress, is the very ground and 
basis of his feelings and conduct 
both in relation to God, his fellow- 
creatures, and himself. The prac- 
tical benefits of this habitual low- 
liness are too numerous and too 
obvious to require enumeration ; 
it will lead you to dread the be- 
ginnings, and fly from the occa- 
sions of sin, as that man would 
shun some infectious distemper 
who knows that he is predis- 
posed to take the contagion ; it 
will prevent many difficulties and 
troubles, which proud persons are 
continually involved in, and Avhen 
at last the Christian shall be trans- 
lated into the realms of glory, 
this principle shall still subsist 
in undiminished force. — Wilbek- 
foece. 

Humility opens our eyes. 
When Paul was a Pharisee, he 



148 



HUMILITY — nYPOCRISY. 



tliuuirlit himself blameless ; but 
when a Christian, he calls him- 
self " the chief of sinners." Hu- 
mility is the daughter of faith, and 
the mother of contentment. Christ 
was a preacher and a pattern of 
humility, and he admires it so 
much that he sets those in the 
highest form (among his disciples) 
who have the lowest hearts. The 
casting down of our spirits in true 
humility is but like throwing a 
ball on the ground, which makes 
it soon rebound the higher ; so 
the more we are truly humbled for 
sin, the more we rise by grace. — 
J. Mason. 

Sense shines with a double lus- 
ter when it is set in humility. 
An able and yet humble man 
is a jewel worth a kingdom. — 
Penn. 

Humility does not consist in a 
plain and singular dress, nor yet 
in speaking in mean terms of our- 
selves, or in being free and friendly 
vrith poor persons, nor yet in any 
thing outward. These things are 
sometimes the effects of true humil- 
ity, but they may be without it. 
Real Christian humility is a grace 
of the spirit, and consequently has 
its seat in the heart. In Scripture . 
it is called in- one place humble- 
ness of mind, in another lowli- 
ness of heart, and in another 
poverty of spirit. The original 
word signifies having a low o})inion 
or esteem of ourselves in com- 
parison with others. It will show 



itself before God by sulf-abase- 
inent, on account of the deep de- 
pravity of human nature, by an 
entire dependence upon the mer- 
cy of God in Christ Jesus, and a 
close walk with God in the use 
of all the appointed means. It 
will manifest itself among men by 
respect and submission to our 
superiors, love and friendship to 
our equals, and condescension to 
our inferiors, together with a 
readiness to forgive injuries, and 
to be candid and moderate toward 
all. It wiU appear as it respects 
ourselves, not only in carefully 
avoiding everything which has 
even the appearance of pride and 
haughtiness, but in a modest and 
meek behavior, a distrust of our 
own strength or abilities, patience 
in suffering, and contentment in 
our situation of life. — De. David 
Jennings. 



is 



Hypoceisy desires to seem good 
rather than to be so ; honesty de- 
sires to be good rather than seem 
so. The worldlings purchase repu- 
tation by the sale of desert ; wise 
men buy desert with the hazard 
of reputation. I would do much to 
hear well, more to deserve well, and 
rather lose opinion than merit. It 
shall more joy me that I know 
myself what I am, than it shall 
grieve me to hear what others re- 
port me. I had rather deserve 
well without praise than do 



HYPOCPJSY. 



149 



ill with commendati(jn. — AExnuR 
Waewick. 

Hypocrisy is the necessary bur- 
den of villainy, affectation part of 
the chosen trappings of folly : the 
one completes a villain, the other 
only finishes a fop. Contempt is 
the proper punishment of affecta- 
tion, and detestation the just con- 
sequence of hypocrisy.— JoHXSON". 

Hypoceisy is full of lip-repent- 
ance after the wicked deed is done 
and there is no remedy. — Xeder. 

Hypocrisy is the homage which 
vice renders to virtue. — La Roche- 
foucauld. 

Everything may be mimicked 
by hypocrisy but humility and 
love united. The more rare the 
more radiant when they meet. — 
Lavater. 

Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks 

Invisible, except to God alone, 

By his permissive will, through 
heaven and earth. 

And oft though wisdom wakes, 
suspicion sleeps 

At wisdom's gate, and to sim- 
plicity 

Resigns her charge, while good- 
ness thinks no ill 

Where no ill seems. 

Aquinas calls hypocrisy "the 
counterfeiting of virtue," for the 
hypocrite is like a mountebank or 
a stage-player. He is not what he 



appears to be, indeed he is a mere 
shape or apparition, and hath no 
spiritual life to act from ; he is a 
rotten post gilded over, or like 
the painted grapes that deceived 
the living birds, or the beautiful 
apples of Sodom, with this motto, 
"No further than colors ;" touch 
them and they moulder into dust. 
Hypocrites are like turning pic- 
tures, which have on one side the 
image of a lamb, and on the other 
side a wolf ; and they also may be 
compared to trumpets which make 
a noise but are hollow within. 
But to be more particular, a 
hypocrite is more studious to enter 
into religion, than that religion 
should enter into him ; he is zeal- 
ous in little things, but cold and 
remiss in the most important; 
perhaps he will not swear, but 
will lie, and secretly defame, if 
not defraud, his neighbor. The 
hypocrite may, like Herod, pre- 
tend to worship, but it is only 
to answer his wicked purposes. 
Like Jezebel, he may keep a fast, 
but it is only to dissemble ; or like 
Absalom, to color his treason, he 
may pretend to have a religious 
vow. Many make religion a cloak 
to cover their pride and ambition ; 
like Jehu, they say, Come and see 
my zeal for the Lord, when at the 
same time it was zeal for the king- 
dom; he made religion hold the 
stirrup while he got into the sad- 
dle and possessed the crown. Jeliu 
is long since dead, but his spirit 
is in many who condemn his con- 
duct. In Matt, xxiii Christ pro- 



150 



HYPOCRITE. 



noiince:^ seven Avoes on hypocrites; 
and when the Holy Spirit would 
aggravate the place of torment, 
he calls it the place of hypo- 
crites, as if hell itself were cre- 
ated and prepared principally for 
hypocrites. — Cueistiax's Maga- 
zine. 



fgpmte. 

A scoEPiON thinks when his 
head lies hid under a leaf that he 
cannot be seen. Even so the hypo- 
crites and false'Saints think, when 
they have hoisted up one or two 
good works, that all their sins 
therewith are covered and hid. — 
Luther. 

The hypocrite is a Nero within, 
a Cato without, an equivocal man, 
a true monster, composed of dif- 
ferent and contrary natures. — St. 
Jerome. 

The hypocrite shows the ex- 
cellency of virtue by the neces- 
sity he thinks himself under of 
seeming to be virtuous. — John- 
son. 

A hypocrite neither is Avhat 
he seems, nor seems what he is. 
A hypocrite is hated of the world 
for seeming to be a Christian, and 
hated of God for not being one. 
A hypocrite is the picture of a 
saint, but when his paint is washed 
otf he will appear in his true col- 
ors. God is in good earnest with 



us; we ought to be so with him 
also. — J. Mason. 

If Satan ever laughs it must be 
at hypocrites. They are the great- 
est dupes he has; they serve him 
better than any others, but receive 
no wages ; nay, what is still more 
extraordinary, they submit to 
greater mortifications to go to 
hell than the sincerest Christian 
to go to heaven. — Colton. 

There always were hypocrites : 
Cain in the first age, Canaan in 
the second, Ishmael in the third, 
Esau in the fourth, Ham in the 
fifth, Saul among the prophets, 
Judas among the apostles, Nicho- 
las among the deacons, and Ana- 
nias and Sapphira among the prim- 
itive Christians. 

It is the greatest madness in the 
world to be a hypocrite in relig- 
ious profession. Men hate thee 
because thou art a Christian so 
much as in appearance ; God hates 
thee double because thou art but 
in appearance : so, while thou hast 
the hatred of both, thou hast no 
comfort in thyself. Yet if thou 
wilt not be good as thou seemest, 
I hold it better to seem ill as thou 
ai't. An open wicked man doth 
much hurt with notorious sins; 
but a hypocrite doth, at last, 
more shame goodness by seeming 
good. I had rather be an open 
wicked man than a hypocrite ; 
but I had rather be no man than 
either of them. — Hall. 



IDLENESS — IDOLATRY. 



151 



Jlrlemss. 



Some one, in casting up his ac- 
counts, put down a very large sum 
per annum for his idleness. . But 
there is another account more aw- 
ful than that of our expenses, in 
which many will find that their 
idleness has mainly contributed to 
the balance against them. From 
its very inaction, idleness ulti- 
mately becomes the most active 
cause of evil — as palsy is more 
to be dreaded than a fever. — 

FULLEE. 

Tex thousand harms more than 

the ills we know 
Our idleness doth hatch. 

Shakspeaee. 

By doing nothing, men learn to 
do ill. 

Idleness is the bane of body 
and mind, the nurse of naughti- 
ness, the step-mother of discipline, 
the chief author of all mischief, 
one of the seven deadly sins, the 
cushion upon which the devil 
chiefly reposes, and a great cause 
not only of melancholy, but of 
many other diseases ; for tlie mind 
is naturally active, and if it be 
not occupied about some honest 
business, it rushes into mischief 
or sinks into melancholy. — Bue- 

TON. 

A MAN who is able to employ 
himself innocently is never mis- 
erable. It is the idle who are 
wretched. If I wanted to inflict 



the greatest punishment on a fel- 
low-creature, I would shut him 
alone in a dark room without em- 
ployment. 

Idleness is the hotbed of tempt- 
ation, the cradle of disease, the 
master of time, the canker-worm 
of felicity. To him that has no 
employment, life in a little while 
will have no novelty; and when 
novelty is laid in the grave, the 
funeral of comfort will soon fol- 
low. 

Teotjbles spriug from idleness, 
and grievous toils from needless 
ease. Many without labor Avould 
live by their own wits only ; but 
they break for want of stock. — 
Feanklin. 

ISTevee be idle. If your nands 
cannot be usefully employed, at- 
tend to the cultivation of your 
mind. 



Idolatey is the mother of all 
shows and all plays, to draw the 
Christians to fall into the net. 
This flatters them, this seduces 
them by the pleasures of the eyes 
and ears; and it is an artifice of 
the devil, who, knowing that 
idolatry would strike horror 
if it appeared all naked, has 
mixed it with shows and di- 
versions to make it amiable. — St. 
Oypeian. 



152 IGXOKAXCE — IMAGIXATIOX — IMMOKTALITY. 



IIe -who make?; an idol of Lis 
interest makes a martyr of his 
integrity. 



Igxoraxce of God in Christ, 
and of ourselves, is the principal 
cause of all our disquietments. — 

OWEX, 

It is impossible to make people 
understand their ignorance, for it 
requires knowledge to perceive it; 
and therefore he that can perceive 
it hath it not. — I^snop Taylor. 



N'oTHixG is wanting to make 
you wretched but to fancy your- 
self so. 

Many have no happier moments 
than those that they pass in soli- 
tude, abandoned to their own im- 
agination, which sometimes puts 
scepters in their hands or miters 
on their heads, shifts the scene of 
pleasure with endless variety, bids 
all the forms of beauty sparkle be- 
fore them, and gluts them with 
every change of visionary luxury, 

— JOHNSOif. 



L 



Immanxliiir. 

The history of the world tells 
us that immoral means will ever 
intercept good ends, — Coleridge. 



Jmmoritilitij. 

It must be so. Plato, thou rea- 

son'st well ! 
Else whence this pleasing hope, 

this fond desire, 
This longing after immortality ? 
Or whence this secret dread, and 

inward horror 
Of falling into naught? Why 

shrinks the soul 
Back on herself, and startles at 

destruction ? 
'Tig the divinity that stirs within 

us; 
'Tis heaven itself that points out 

an hereafter, 
And intimates eternity to man. 
Addison. 



I FEEL my immortality o'ersweep 
All pains, all tears, all time, all 

fears, and peal 
Into my ears this truth, " Thou 

liv'st forever!" Byron. 

There are three principal proofs 
of the immortality of the soul r 
the first is, from the nature of the 
soul itself, and particularly from 
its immateriality; the second is, 
from its passions and sentiments, 
as particularly from its love of ex- 
istence, its horror of annihilation, 
and its hopes of immortality, with 
that secret satisfaction it has in 
doing right, and its uneasiness in 
doing wrong; the third is, from 
the nature of the Supreme Being, 
whose justice, goodness, wisdom, 
and veracity are all concerned in 



mMORT ALIT Y — IMPRO YEMEXT. 



153 



this point. But there is one more 
argument of great weight, which 
is not generally taken much notice 
of, and that is an argument drawn 
from the perpetual progress of the 
soul to its perfection. How can it 
be supposed that that which is 
capable of such improvements 
should fall into nothing almost as 
soon as it is created ? A brute in 
a few years arrives at a point that 
he can never pass, and having re- 
ceived all the endowments he is 
capable of, were he to live ten 
thousand more he would be the 
same thing that he is at present. 
If it were so with a human soul, 
all her faculties full blown and in- 
capable of further enlargements, 
it might then drop into a state of an- 
nihilation. But the soul can never 
in this world take in its full meas- 
ure of knowledge and enjoyments; 
it has capacities which can never 
be fully gratified, and talents which 
can never be properly exerted here 
below. This world is therefore 
only to the soul a nursery for the 
next, and afterward it will be 
transplanted into a more friend- 
ly climate, where it will be 
able completely to exert its noble 
powers, and flourish to all eter- 
nity. 

This single consideration of the 
progress of a finite spirit to perfec- 
tion should be sufficient to extin- 
guish all envy in inferior natures, 
and all contempt in superior. That 
cherubim, which now appears, as 
a god to a human soul, knows that 
the period will come about in 



eternity when the human soul 
shall be as perfect as himself 
now is. 

With what astonishment and 
veneration should we look into 
our souls, which are so capable 
of improvements, and receiving 
such increasing spiritual pleasures. 
The soul, considered in relation to 
its Creator, is like one of those 
mathematical lines that may draw 
nearer to each other for all eter- 
nity without a possibility of touch- 
ing it ; and can there he a thought 
more pleasing than to consider 
ourselves in the -way of perpetual 
approaches to Him who is not only 
the standard of perfection but of 
happiness. — Spectatoe. 



The company in which you im- 
prove most will be the least 
expensive to you. — Washingtox. 



All persons are under some 
obligations to improve their under- 
standing, otherwise it will be a 
barren desert, or as a forest over- 
grown with weeds and braml)les. 
Universal ignorance or innumer- 
able errors will overspread the 
mind which is neglected and lies 
without cultivation. The com- 
mon duties and benefits of so- 
ciety belong to every one living, 
and as we are social creatures 
related to a family or neighbor- 
hood, oblige all persons whatso- 



lo-t 



INDEPEXDEXCE — IXDOLEXCE. 



ever to use their reasoning pow- 
ers upon a thousand occasions. 
Every hour of life calls for some 
regular exercise of our judgment 
as to time and things, persons and 
actions, "Without a prudent and 
discreet determination in matters 
before us we shall be plunged into 
perpetual errors in our conduct, 
Xow that which should always be 
practiced must at some time be 
learned. It is in vain for any to 
say we have no leisure or time 
fur it. The daily intervals of time 
and vacations from necessary la- 
bor, together with one day in 
seven, allows sufficient time for 
this if men would but apply them- 
selves to it with half so much zeal 
and diligence as they do to the 
trifles and amusements of this life, 
an<l it would turn to a much bet- 
ter account. Thus it is the neces- 
sary duty and the interest of every 
person living to improve his under- 
standing, to inform his judgment, 
and to treasure up useful knowl- 
edge as far as his station, capacity, 
and circumstances furnish him 
with proper means for it. We 
should consider that if we do not 
improve our minds, our mistakes 
in judgment may plunge us into 
nnich folly and guilt in practice ; 
and by acting without thought 
and reason we dishonor God, who 
made us reasonable creatures, 
and often become injurious to 
our neighbors, kindred, and 
friends, as well as bring sin 
and misery upon ourselves, — Dii. 
Watts. 



Of nations, as of individuals, 
the first blessing is independence. 
Neither the man nor the people 
can be happy to whom any 
human power can deny the neces- 
saries or conveniences of life. 
There is no way of living without 
foreign assistance, but by the 
product of our own land improved 
by our own labor. Every other 
source of plenty is perishable or 
casual. — Johnson. 

Thy spirit. Independence, let me 

share ! 
Lord of the lion heart and eagle 

eye 
Thy steps I follow with my bosom 

hare, 
Nor heed the storm that howls 

along the sky. 
Deep in the frozen regions of the 

north, 
A goddess violated brought thee 

forth; 
Immortal Uberty, whose look sub- 
lime 
Hath bleached the tyrant's cheek 

in every varying clime. 

Independence is something 
which the multitude are blindly 
seeking for, without understand- 
ing its nature, its cost, or its ac- 
companiments. 



dnboUna* 

Bathee do nothing to the pur- 
pose than be idle, that the devil 



] XDOLEXCE — IXDUSTRY. 



155 



may tind tliee dning. Tlie bird 
that sits is easily shot, when fliers 
'scape the fowler. Idleness is the 
dead sea that swallows all virtues, 
and the self-made sepulcher of a 
living man. The idle man is the 
devil's hireling, whose livery is 
rags, whose diet and wages are 
famine and diseases. — Suttox. 

TnEEE are no people who are so 
troublesome to others as the indo- 
lent. "When they have satisfied 
their indolence they wish to ap- 
pear diligent. — La Eochefou- 

CAULD. 

Of all our faults, that which we 
most readily admit is indolence. 
"We persuade ourselves that it 
cherishes all the peaceful virtues, 
and that, without entirely destroy- 
ing the others, it merely suspends 
their functions. — La Kochefotj- 

CAULD. 

By nature's laws, immutable and 

just, 
Enjoyment stops where indolence 

begins. Pollok. 

It is a vast work that any man 
may do if he never be idle. 

If industry is no more than 
habit, 'tis at least an excellent one. 
If you ask me which is the real 
hereditary sin of human nature, 
do you imagine I shall answer, 
pride, or luxury, or ambition, or 
egotism? No, I shall answer, 
indolence. What conquers indo- 
lence will conquer all the rest. 



Indeed, all good principles must 
stagnate without mental activity. 
— Zimmerman]^-. 

Of all our passions, that which 
is most unknown to ourselves is 
indolence. Although the injuries 
it causes are very imperceptible, 
no other passion is more ardent or 
more malignant. If we consider 
attentively its influence we shall 
see that on every occasion it ren- 
ders itself master of our senti- 
ments, our interests, and our 
pleasures ; it is the remora which 
arrests the course of the largest 
vessels, a cahn more dangerous to 
the most important affairs than 
rocks or tempests. The repose of 
indolence is a secret spell of the 
mind which suspends our most 
ardent pursuits and our firmest 
resolves. —La EocnEForcAULu. 



There is room enough in human 
life to crowd almost every art 
and science in it. If we pass ''no 
day without a line," visit no place 
without the company of a book, 
we may with ease fill libraries or 
empty them of their contents. 
The more we do, the more we can 
do; the more busy we are, the 
more leisure we have ; and it is an 
old maxim, "He hath no leisure 
who useth it not." — Hazlitt. 

Indtjstrt need not wish, and he 
that lives upon hopes will die 



loG 



INDUSTRY — IXFANCY. 



fasting. There are no gains with- 
out pains ; then help, hands, for I 
have no hinds ; or, if I have, they 
are smartly taxed. He that hath 
a trade hath an estate, and he that 
hath a calling, hath an office of 
profit and honor; but then the 
trade must be worked at, and the 
calling followed, or neither the 
estate nor the office will enable us 
to pay our taxes. If we are in- 
dustrious w^e shall never starve, 
for, at the working-man's house 
hunger looks in, but dares not 
enter. l:for will the bailiff or the 
constable enter, for Industry pays 
debts, while Despair increaseth 
them. — Feaxklin. 

TTe should love labor, for if we 
do not want it for food we may 
for physic. The idle man is more 
perplexed what to do than the in- 
dustrious in doing what he does. 
By doing nothing we learn to do 
ill, for there are none that can be 
idle and innocent. Idleness cor- 
rupts and rusts the mind, but ac- 
tion keeps the soul in constant 
health; and besides this it is to 
diligence that we owe the inven- 
tion and improvement of all the 
arts and sciences, and other useful 
inventions. An idle man is an in- 
cumbrance to society, if not a bur- 
den to himself; but the man of 
piety or learning who is diligent, 
never knows the plague of idle- 
ness ; for when he is not engaged 
in devotion, business, or conversa- 
tion, he is employed in compo- 
sition or reading. Thus the man 



who is truly diligent never wants 
for profitable employment, and it 
it his delight to be constantly en- 
gaged, either for the benefit of 
himself or of others. — Steeich. 

Application and industry hav- 
ing great and good objects, are 
the best preventives from mis- 
chief. — Simmons. 

If you have great talents indus- 
try will improve them ; if moderate 
abilities, industry will supply their 
deficiency. ( Xothing is denied to 
well-directed labor, nothing is ever 
to be attained without it,— Sie J. 
Reynolds. 

The industrious man who gives 
himself to his proper business from 
morning to night is comparatively 
out of the reach of vice and im- 
morality. — De. Emmons. 



An, my tender babes! 

My unblown flowers, new-appear- 
ing sweets! 

If yet your gentle souls fly in the 
air, 

Hover about me with your airy 
wings 

And hear your mother's lamenta- 
tion. Siiakspeaee. 

Lo! at the couch where infant 

beauty sleeps, 
Her silent watch the mournful 

mother keeps : 



IXFA^X'Y — INFIDELITY. 



157 



She, while the lovely babe uncon- 
scious lies, 

Smiles on her slumbering child 
with pensive eyes, 

And weaves a song of melancholy 

m ■ 
" Sleep, image of thy father, sleep, 

my boy : 
No lingering hour of sorrow shall 

be thine; 
No sigh that rends thy father's 

heart and mine ; 
Bright as his manly sire the son 

shall be 
In form and soul ; but, ah I more 

blessed than he I 
Thy fame, thy worth, thy filial 

love, at last 
Shall soothe this aching heart for 

all the past; 
With many a smile my solitude 

repay, 
And chase the world's ungenerous 

scorn away." Campbell. 

The glorified spirit of the in- 
fant is as a star to guide the 
mother to its own blissful clime. — 

SiGOUKNEY. 



Ifnfitrelitg, 

Whex once infidelity can per- 
suade men that they shall die like 
beasts, they will soon be brought 
to live like beasts also. — South. 

If we diligently inquire, we 
shall find that but very few truly 
learned or humble persons ever 
became infidels ; but where there is 



only a smattering of learning and 
religion and much pride, such 
persons are liable to be poisoned 
with infidelity. Perhaps the 
greatest part use it as a kind of a 
refuge or excuse for a vicious life. 
However, it is likely that some 
have become infidels for want of 
more religions knowledge, for, not 
having abilities or leisure to be 
fully informed of the important 
principles of Christianity, they are 
soon startled by the crafty objec- 
tions of unbelievers, and so at last 
join them. There are many places 
in the Scriptures which persons 
for want of a better judgment mis- 
consti-ue, and especially all the 
seeming contradictions only re- 
quire knowledge in history and 
chronology to clear them up. In 
particnlar I have conversed with 
many deists, and I have found 
tliem either ignorant of the state 
and manners of the ancient Bible 
characters, or forgetting they were 
so different to us, therefore they 
disbelieve what is recorded in the 
sacred history. Infidelity is a 
rank w^eed that threatens to over- 
spread the land ; its root is prin- 
cipally fixed among the great and 
opulent; but lately Thomas Paine 
has endeavored to spread it among 
tradesmen, manufacturers, and the 
common people. However, as the 
Bible has withstood the learning 
of Porphyry, the genius of Boling- 
broke, the wit of Voltaire, and 
the power of Julian, we trust it 
will not fall by the force of Paine, 
though he has barbed anew the 



158 



IXFIDELIT Y — IXGR ATITUDE. 



blunted arrows of former adver- 
saries, feathered tliem Avith blas- 
phemy and ridicule, dipped them 
in deadly poison, aimed them with 
skill, and shot them with his 
utmost vigor ; but, like the feeble 
Javelin of aged Priam, they will 
scarcely reach the mark, and fall 
on the ground without a stroke. 
The situation of infidels I esteem 
very dangerous; but while alive 
we should not despair of their 
conversion, nor should we treat 
them with contempt or asperity. 
— Bishop Watsox. 

Let us describe the language 
and situation of a dying infidel. 
" I am dying, I must die ; it is not 
a preacher, it is not a religious 
book, but it is Death itself that 
preaches to me, whom I must hear. 
Whither am I going ? What will 
become of me? What will be- 
come of my soul ? My infidelity 
has told me it is mortal, or made 
me doubt of its immortality, but 
yet now I feel a doubt whether I 
have not been dreadfully mistaken. 
I see heaven shut against me; I 
see it is a place which my sins for- 
bid me to enter; I see hell, that 
place which I have ridiculed, is 
open under mj feet; I hear the 
horrid groans of the damned, the 
smoke of the bottomless pit chokes 
my words, and wraps my thoughts 
in suflfocating darkness." Such 
and much worse is an infidel on a 
dying bed: this is what infidelity 
comes to, this is what it is good 
for. — Saurin. 



Some infidels have objected to 
Christianity on account of the 
vicious lives of many of its pro- 
fessors ; but although it is a lament- 
able truth that many lead lives 
contrary to its pure principles, yet 
this is no solid objection, but 
rather in one point of view an 
argument for the truth of Chris- 
tianity, because as so many of its 
professoi's have in all ages led 
wicked lives, if the Christian re- 
ligion were not true, and founded 
on a rock, it must have sunk under 
the weight of this prejudice. — 
Bishop Atterbtjey. 

Ax infidel may be a man of 
great genius and learning, yet in 
this he acts like an idiot, as he 
must willfully shut his eyes against 
evidence and truth ; a man because 
all in the Bible cannot be explained 
to him, determines to deny what 
is explained ; a man who cannot 
digest the difficulties of religion, 
but can digest those of skepticism. 
— Saurix. 



We show as much ingratitude 
as pride when we resist the will 
of Him whose command is even a 
favor. — St. Paulin. 

He that calls a man ungrateful, 
sums up all the evil that a man 
can be guilty of.-i-SwiFT. 

The earth produces nothing 
worse tlian an ungrateful man. • 



IXGEATITUDE. 



159 



As xnEEE are no laws extant 
against ingratitude, so it is utterly 
impossible to contrive any that in 
all circumstances shall reach it. 
If it were actionable, there would 
not be courts enough in the Avhole 
world to try the causes in. There 
can be no setting a day for the re- 
quiting of benefits, as for the pay- 
ment of money ; nor any estimate 
upon the benefits themselves ; but 
the whole matter rests in the con- 
science of both parties : and then 
there are so many degrees of it, 
that the same rule will never serve 
all. — Sexeca. 

We seldom find people ungrate- 
ful as long as we are in a condi- 
tion to render them services. — La 
Rochefoucauld. - 

The spring was come, and the nest 

was made. 
And the little bird all her eggs 

had laid, 
When a cuckoo came to the door 

to beg 
She would kindly adopt another 

egg; 

For I have not leisure, upon my 

word, 
To attend to such things, said the 

roving bird. 
There was hardly room for them 

all in the nest. 
But the egg was admitted along 

with the rest ; 
And the foster-birds played their 

parts so well. 
That soon the young cuckoo had 

chipped the shell : 

11 



For, the silly birds ! they could not 

see 
That their foster-chick their plague 

would be ; 
And so big and so saucy the cuckoo 

grew, 
That no peace at last in the nest 

they knew. 
He pecked and he hustled the old 

birds about ; 
And as for the young ones, he 

jostled them out. 
Till at length they summoned their 

friends to their aid. 
Wren, robin, and sparrow, not one 

delayed ; 
And joining together, neighbor 

with neighbor, 
They drove out the cuckoo with 

infinite labor. 
But the cuckoo was fledged, and 

laughed to see 
How they vainly chased him from 

tree to tree : 
They had nursed him so well he 

was grown the stronger, 
And now he needed their help no 

longer. 

Give place, or power, or trust to 

none 
Who will make an ill use of what 

they have won. 
For when you have reared the 

cuckoo guest 
'Twill be hard to drive him out of 

the nest; 
And harder still, when away he's 

flown, 
To hunt down the cuckoo now 

fully grown. 



IGO 



IXJURIES — INJUSTICE. 



injuries. 

Injuries hurt not more in the 
receiving than in the remembrance. 
A small injury shall go as it comes; 
a great injury may dine or sup with 
me; but none at all shall lodge 
with me. Why should I vex my- 
self because another hath vexed 
me ? — Hall. 

I HAVE learned by experience 
that no man's character can be 
eventually injured but by his own 
acts. — R. Hill. 

There is not a wicked man who 
doth not do himself an injury be- 
fore he does it to another ; as fire, 
which doth not consume anything 
without burning itself first. — St. 
Austin. 

We should endeavor to forget 
injuries, and bury them in love. — 
Watts. 

None more impatiently suffer 
injuries than those that are most 
forward in doing them. 

Injuries should be written in 
dust, kind actions in marble. — Dr. 
Oalamy. 

It is the nature of the human 
disposition to hate him whom you 
have injured. — Taoitus. 

An injury unanswered in course 
of time grows weary of itself, and 
dies away in a voluntary remorse. 



In bad dispositions, capable of no 
restraint but fear, it has a differ- 
ent effect ; the silent digestion of 
one wrong provokes a second. — 
Sterne. 

It is the duty of a great mind 
to despise iryuries. — Seneca. 

Oblivion is the best remedy for 
inj uries. — Proverb. 

The injuries of life, if rightly 
improved, will be to us as the 
strokes of the statuary on his 
marble, forming us to a more 
beautiful shape, and making us 
fitter to adorn the heavenly tem- 
ple. — Mather. 



fnjustia. 



In every relative action change 
conditions with thy brother ; then 
ask thy conscience what thou 
would be done to. Being truly re- 
solved, exchange again, and do 
thou the like to him, and thy 
charity shall never err: it is in- 
justice to do what without impa- 
tience thou canst not suffer. 

An unjust acquisition is like a 
barbed arrow, which must be 
drawn backward with horrible 
anguish, or else will be your de- 
struction. — Taylor. 

If thou wouldest be justified, ac- 
knowledge thy injustice. He that 
confesses his sin, begins his journey 



IXXOCEXCE — IXSPIRATIOX — I'XTEGPJTY. 



161 



toward salvation : he that is sorry 
for it mends his pace : he that for- 
sakes it is at his journey's end. — 

QUAELES. 



The most soothing consolation 
to the man who is plunged in af- 
fliction is the consciousness of his 
innocence, which, like an angel, 
watches at his side, and whispers 
comfort to his soul. The holy con- 
fidence arising from the considera- 
tion of innocence supported the 
martyrs, and upheld their endur- 
ing patience under the pressure of 
the severest tortures! This con- 
sideration acted with a magical 
influence: it calmed their suffer- 
ings, it lulled the exquisite sensa- 
tion of the flames, while they 
consumed their bodies, and dif- 
fused over their countenance the 
expression of a celestial joy. — 

BOSSUET. 

To BE innocent is to be not 
guilty ; but to be virtuous is to 
overcome our evil intentions. — 
Pex^-. 



Are we inspired? Yes, with- 
out doubt ; but not as the prophets 
and apostles. Without the actual 
inspiration of the Spirit of grace 
we can neither do, nor will, nor 
think any good ; but we continu- 



ally stifle the inspiration. God 
never ceases to speak; but the 
noise of the creatures without, and 
of our passions within, deafens us, 
and hinders us from hearing him. 
— Fexelox. 



Ix a truly good character we 
look, first of all, for integrity, or 
an unbending regard to rectitude ; 
then for independence, or the 
habitual determination to be gov- 
erned by an enlightened convic- 
tion of truth and duty; then for 
benevolence, or the spirit of 
kindness and good- will to men; 
and last, but not least, for piety 
toward God, or an affectionate, 
reverent regard for the wall and 
glory of the great Jehovah. — 
Hawes. 

By pure integrity a man first 
maintaineth a due respect and es- 
teem for himself, then preserveth 
an entire reputation with others. 
He reflecteth on his own heart 
with complacence, and looketh 
upon the world wath confidence. 
He hath no fear of being detected, 
or care to smother his intents. He 
is content that his thoughts should 
be sounded, and his actions sifted 
to the bottom. He could even 
wish that his breast had windows, 
that his heart were transparent, 
that all the w^orld might see 
through him, and descry the clear- 
ness of his intentions. The more 



162 IXTEMPERANCE— INTENTION— JEALOUSY— JESUS. 



curiously his ways are marked, 
tlie more exactly his dealings are 
scanned ; the more thoroughly 
his designs are penetrated and 
known, the greater approbation 
he is sure to receive. — Bishop 
Bakkow. 

Ix all things preserve integrity, 
and the consciousness of thine own 
uprightness will alleviate the toil 
of business, soften the hardness of 
ill-success and disappointments, 
and give thee an humble confi- 
dence before God, when the in- 
gratitude of man, or the iniquity 
of the times, may rob thee of 
other reward. — Palet. 



Those men who destroy a 
healthful constitution of body by 
intemperance and an irregular life, 
do as manifestly kill themselves 
as those who hang, or poison, or 
drown themselves. — Sheelock. 



Theee needs no greater subtlety 
to prove that both benefits and 
injuries receive their value from 
the intention, when even brutes 
themselves are able to decide this 
question. Tread upon a dog by 
chance, or put him to pain upon 
the dressing of a wound ; the one 
passes by as an accident, and the 



other, in his fashion, he acknowl- 
edges as a kindness. But ofier to 
strike at him, and though you do 
him no hurt at all, he flies yet in 
the face of you, even for the mis- 
chief that you barely meant him. 
— Sexeca. 

Let not thy good intention flat- 
ter thee to an evil action. What 
is essentially evil no circumstance 
can make good. It matters not 
with what mind thou didst that 
which is unlawful, being done : if 
the act be good, the intention 
crowns it; if bad, it deposes thy 
intention. No evil action may be 
well done. — Exchieidiox. 

Good intentions are very mortal 
things. Like very mellow and 
choice fruit, they are difficult to 
keep. 



^mlomis. 



Of all the passions, jealousy is 
that which exacts the hardest 
service, and pays the bitterest 
wages. Its service is to watch 
the success of our enemy; its 
wages to be sure of it. — Ooltox. 



1^ 



This great truth, that Jesus is 
the Son of God, was not spoiled 
because it was once and again 
proclaimed with a loud voice by 
the devil. If truth is so defiled 



JESUS — JO Y — JUDGMENT. 



because it is spoken by tbe niontb 
or written by the pen of some ill- 
minded, mischievous man, that it 
must never be received, we shall 
never know when we hold any of 
the most precious and evident; 
truths by a sure tenure. The truth ! 
is not to be thought worthy of 
rejection on that account, — Ed- 
wards. 

The name of Jesus is not only 
light, but also food. It is likewise 
oil, without which all the food of the 
soul is dry. It is salt, unseasoned 
by which whatever is presented 
to us is insipid. It is honey in 
the mouth, melody in the ear, joy 
in the heart, medicine to the soul, 
and there are no charms in any 
discourse in which his name is not 
heard. — Beexaed. 

I HAVE somewhere read an 
account of a solemn disputation 
which was held at Venice in the 
last century between a Jew and a 
Christian. The Christian strongly 
argued from Daniel's prophecy of 
the seventy weeks, that Jesus was 
the Messiah whom the Jews had 
long expected from the predic- 
tions of their prophets. The 
learned Eabbi who presided at 
this disputation was so forcibly 
struck by the argument that he 
put an end to the business by say- 
ing, "Let us shut up our Bibles; 
for if we proceed in the examina- 
tion of this prophecy it will make 
us all become Christians." — Bishop 
Watsox. 



log- 
The ransomed of the Lord sliall 
return, and come to Zion with 
songs and everlasting joy upon their 
heads: they shall obtain joy and 
gladness, and sorrow and sighing 
shall flee away. — Bible. 

He that to the best of his power 
has secured the final stake, has a 
perennial fountain of joy within 
him. He is satisfied from himself. 
They, his reverse, borrow all 
from without. Joy wholly from 
without is false, precarious, and 
short. From without it may be 
gathered ; but, like gathered flow- 
ers, though fair and sweet for a 
season, it must soon wither and 
become offensive. Joy from with- 
in is like smelling the rose on the 
tree. It is more sweet and fair, 
it is lasting ; and, I must add, im- 
mortal. — YouxG. 

True joy is a serene and sober 
motion, and they are miserably 
out that take laughing for rejoic- 
ing. The seat of it is witliin, and 
there is no cheerfulness like the 
resolutions of a brave mind that 
has fortune under its feet. — 
Sexeca. 



Jitirgimttt, 

Mex and things have both their 
proper points of view. Some re- 
quire to be seen near to be judged 
well of; others are never so well 
judged of as at a distance. — La 
Rochefoucauld, 



IGi 



JUDGMENT — JUSTICE — J USTIFICATIOX. 



How LITTLE do they see what is, 

who frame 
Their hasty judgments upon that 

which seems ! Southey. 

A EIGHT judgment 
Draws profit from all things we 
see. ShakspeaPwE. 

Associate with men of good 
judgment, for judgment is found 
in conversation. And we make 
another man's judgment ours, by 
frequenting his company. — Ful- 



It is nothing but strict justice 
if a man suffers from his own 
deeds. — Aeistotle. 

N"oTHrN'& can be honest which 
is destitute of justice. — Ciceeo. 

Justice is the great interest of 
man on earth. It is the ligament 
wTiich holds civilized beings and 
civilized nations together, ^here- 
ever her temple stands, and so 
long as it is duly honored, there is 
a foundation for social security, 
general happiness, and the im- 
provement and progress of our 
race. And whoever labors on this 
edifice with usefulness and dis- 
tinction, whoever clears its found- 
ations, strengthens its pillars, 
adorns its entablatures, or contrib- 
utes to raise its august dome still 
higher in the skies, connects 
himself in name, in fame and 
character with that which is 
and must be as durable as 



the frame of human society. — 
Webstee. 

Justice is itself the great stand- 
ing policy of civil society ; and 
any eminent departure from it, 
under any circumstances, lies 
under the suspicion of being no 
policy at all. — Bueke. 

If thou hast the place of a mag- 
istrate, deserve it by tiiy justice, 
and dignify it with thy mercy. 
Take heed of early gifts : an open 
hand makes a blind eye. Be not 
more apt to punish vice than to 
encourage virtue. Be not too se- 
vere, lest thou be hated ; nor too 
remiss, lest thou be slighted. So 
execute justice that thou may est be 
loved ; so execute mercy that thou 
may est be feared. — ^Enchieidiox. 

Justice is that virtue by which 
w^e render to God, our neighbor, 
and ourselves that which is their 
due. It comprehends all our du- 
ties, and to be just and to be vir- 
tuous is the same thing. 

The only way to make the mass 
of mankind see the beauty of 
justice, is by showing them in 
pretty plain terms the consequence 
of injustice. — Sidney Smith. 



IktstifitattoiT, 

If we look to the moral law 
for justification, or even consola- 
tion, we shall be miserably disap- 
pointed. If we build upon our 
baptism, duties, graces, tears, etc., 



KINDNESS —KNOWLEDGE. 



165 



we are cleaving to Mount Sinai, 
and cannot be saved till we are 
driven from these false confidences. 
We must only bring our wants 
and miseries to Christ, and depend 
alone upon his atonement. — Wil- 
cox. 



SixcE you can bear with your 
own, bear w^ith other men's fail- 
ings too. — Spanish Peoveeb. 

He that is sensible of no evil 
but what he feels, has a hard 
heart ; and he that can spare no 
kindness from himself, has a nar- 
row soul. COLLIEE. 

I HAD rather never receive a 
kindness than never bestow one. 
Not to return a benefit is the 
greater sin, but not to confer it 
is the earlier. — Sexeca. 

Ix the intercourse of social life 
it is by little acts of watchful 
kindness, recurring daily and 
hourly — and opportunities of do- 
ing kindnesses, if sought for, are 
forever starting up ; it is by 
words, by tones, by gestures, by 
looks, that affection is won and 
preserved. He who neglects these 
trifles, yet boasts that, whenever 
a great sacrifice is called for, he 
shall be ready to make it, will 
rarely be loved. The likelihood 
is he will not make it : and if he 
does, it will be much rather for his 
own sake than for his neighbors. 



Life is made up, not of great 
sacrifices or duties, but of little 
things, in which smiles, and kind- 
nesses, and small obligations, 
given habitually, are what win 
and preserve the heart, and se- 
cure comfort. — SiE H. Davy. 

A KIND word in return for 
an unkind one is kindness that is 
felt. 



All false practices and affecta- 
tions of knowledge are more odious 
to God, and deserve to be so to 
men, than any want or defect of 
knowledge can be. — Sprat. 

I have taken much pains to 
know everything that was es- 
teemed worth knowing among 
men, but with all my disquisitions 
and readings nothing now remains 
with me to comfort me at the 
close of life but this passage of St. 
Paul : " It is a faithful saying, and 
worthy of all acceptation, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world 
to save sinners." To this I cleave, 
and herein I find rest. — Selden. 

The wise carry their knowledge 
as they do their watches, not for 
display, but for use. 

If a man empties his purse into 
his head, no man can take it away 
from him. An investment in 
knowledge always pays the best 
interest. — Franklin. 



]G6 



KNOWLEDGE — KNOWLEDGE, IMPERFECT. 



If no use be made of the labors 
of past ages, tlie world must always 
remain in the infancy of knowl- 
edge. — De. S. Johnsox. 

Knowledge and virtue are the 
pillars of state, the true bases of 
liberty and happiness. 

No MAX is nearer the knowl- 
edge of truth than he who is 
sensible that whatever discover- 
ies he makes in things divine, 
there yet remain more to be made. 
— St. Leox. 



This world is like a battle-field 
full of little hills and hollows ; and 
to each soldier in the war the 
small valley where he fights seems 
the whole, or at least the chief 
part of the field. He cannot see 
the contest on the other side of 
the hill; and he thinks, in his 
small judgment, that as go things 
in his hollow, so goes the whole 
battle. Thus either his defeat or 
his victory looks to him of far 
more consequence than it really is. 
But God looks at things by the 
whole, and in heaven he will show 
them so to us. — 11. W. Beeciiek. 

"What availeth knowledge with- 
out the fear of God? An humble 
ignorant man is better than a 
proud scholar, who studies nat- 
ural things and knows not him- 
self. The more thou k no west 



the more grievously shalt thou be 
judged. Many get no profit by 
their labor because they contend 
for knowledge rather than for a 
holy life ; and tlie time shall come 
when, it shall more avail thee to 
have subdued one lust than to 
have known all mysteries. — Tay- 

LOE. 

To Kxow thyself, in others self 

discern ; 
Wouldst thoii know others, read 

thyself and learn. 

ScniLLEE — Bulwee. 

Knowledge does not comprise 
all that is contained in the large 
term of education. The feelings 
are to be disciplined, the passions 
are to be restrained; true and 
worthy motives are to be inspired. 
A profound religious feeling is to 
be instilled, and pure morality 
inculcated under all circumstances. 
All this is comprised in education. 
— Webstee. 

Desieest thou knowledge ? know 
the end of thy desire. Is it only 
to know ? then it is curiosity. Is 
it because th<m mayest be known? 
then 'tis ^'anity. If because thou 
mayest edify, it is charity; if 
because thou mayest be edified, 
it is Avisdom. That knowledge 
turns to mere excrement that 
hath not some heat of wisdom to 
digest it. — ExcHiEiDiox. 

The highest and most profitable 
learning is the knowledge of our- 
selves. To have a low opinion of 



KNOWLEDGE, IMPERFECT. 



our own merits, and to think highly 
of others, is an evidence of wisdom. 
Therefore, though thou seest an- 
other openly offend and commit sin, 
take thence no occasion to value 
thyself for superior goodness, 
since thou canst not tell how long 
thou wilt be able to persevere in 
the narrow path of vutue. All 
men are frail, but thou shouldst 
reckon none so frail as thyself. — 
Thomas a Kempis. 

I ATTEEBUTE the little I know 
to my not having been ashamed 
to ask for information, and to my 
rule of conversing with all descrip- 
tions of men on those topics that 
form their own peculiar profes- 
sions and pursuits. — Locke. 

EvEET increase of knowledge 
may possibly render depravity 
more depraved, as well as it may 
increase the strength of virtue. 
It is in itself only power, and 
its value depends on its applica- 
tion. — SiDXEY Smith. 

He who always seeks more 
light the more he finds, and finds 
more the more he seeks, is one of the 
few happy mortals who take and 
give in every point of time. The 
tide and ebb of giving and receiv- 
ing is the sum of human happiness, 
which he alone enjoys who always 
wishes to acquire new knowledge, 
and always finds it. — Lavatee. 

Theee is no diflference between 
knowledge and temperance, for he 



who knows what is good and em- 
braces it, and who knows what is 
bad and avoids it, is learned and 
temperate. But they w^ho know 
very well what ought to be done, 
and yet do quite otherwise, are 
ignorant and stupid. — Soceates. 

The profoundly wise do not 
declaim against superficial knowl- 
edge in others so much as the pro- 
foundly ignorant. On the con- 
trary, they would rather assist it 
with their advice than overwhelm 
it with their contempt, for they 
know that there was a period 
when even a Bacon or a !Newton 
were superficial, and that he who 
has a little knowledge is far more 
likely to get more than he that 
has none. — Colton. 

Knowledge will not be won 
without pains and application. A 
few parts of it are easy, but most 
parts are difificult of access. We 
must proceed by sap and battery, 
and when the breach is practica- 
ble, you have nothing to do but to 
press boldly on and enter. It is 
troublesome, and requires deep 
digging to come at pure waters, 
but when you come to the spring 
it will rise and meet you, and 
amply reward your pains. The 
entrance into knowledge, and the 
first passage, are oftentimes very 
narrow, dark, and tiresome; but 
the rooms are spacious and w^ell 
furnished, the country is large, and 
every prospect entertaining. You 
need not wonder that fine countries 



1(58 



LABOR — LAWS — LE ARXIXG. 



have straight avenues, when the 
regions of happiness, like those of 
knowledge, are shut to lazy trav- 
elers, and the way to heaven 
itself is narrow. Common things 
are easily attained, and nobody 
values what lies in everybody's 
way. TThat is excellent is placed 
out of ordinary reach; but this 
should excite us to aspire after it, 
and use our utniost endeavors to 
excel in all useful knowledge. — 
Felto^t. 



l^ater* 



SiJCH is the constitution of man 
that labor may be styled its own 
reward ; nor will any external in- 
citements be requisite if it be con- 
sidered how much happiness is 
gained, and how much misery es- 
caped, by frequent and violent agi- 
tation of the body. — JoH:srsox. 

Laboe is one of the great ele- 
ments of society, the great sub- 
stantial interest on which we all 
stand. Not feudal service or pre- 
dial toil, or the irksome drudgery 
by one race of mankind subjected 
on account of their color to 
another; but labor, intelligent, 
manly, independent, thinking and 
acting for itself, earning its own 
wages, accumulating those wages 
into capital, educating childhood, 
maintaining worshi[), claiming the 
right of the elective franchise, and 
helping to uphold the great fabric 
of the state. That is American 



labor, and all my sympathies are 
with it, and my voice till I am 
dumb will be for it. — Daxiel 
Webstee. 



faiws. 

A PRixcE who falleth out with 
laws breaketh with his best friends. 
— Saville. 

The law is the standard and 
guardian of our liberty, it circum- 
scribes and defends it; but to 
imagine liberty without a law, is 
to imagine every man with his 
sword in his hand to destroy him 
who is weaker than himself; and 
that would be no pleasant pros- 
pect to those who cry out most for 
liberty. — Claeexdon. 

Laws are like cobwebs which 
may catch small flies, but let 
wasps and hornets break through. 
— Swift. 



Leaening gives us a fuller con- 
viction of the imperfections of our 
nature, which, one would think, 
might dispose us to modesty ; for 
the more a man knows the more 
he discovers his ignorance. — Col- 
liee. 

The end of learning is to know 
God, and out of that knowledge 
to love him, and to imitate him as 



LEARXIXG—LEISUEE — LIBERALITY— LIBERTY. 169 



we may the nearest, by possessing 
our souls of true virtue. — Miltox. 

Leaexixg is wealth to the poor, 
an honor to the rich, an aid to the 
young, and a support and comfort 
to the aged. 



He hath no leisure who useth 
it not. — Peoyeeb. 

Leisuee is pain; takes off our 

chariot wheels; 
How heavily we drag the load of 

life! 
Blest leisure is our curse ; it makes 

us wander. Y^'ouxg-. 

Leisuee is a treasure if rightly 
improved, a terrible curse if 
abused. 



Libeeality consists not so much 
in giving a great deal as in giving 
seasonably. — Bruyeee. 

Some are unwisely liberal, and 
more delight to give presents than 
to pay debts. — Sie P. Sidney. 



Religiox and government must 
be allowed to be the greatest of all 
national concerns; and to eujoy 



complete liberty in respect to these 
important objects, is to enjoy the 
greatest civil and religious free- 
dom that any nation can possibly 
possess. — De. Emmoxs. 

Libeety is the right of every 
human creature, as soon as he 
breathes the vital air; and no 
human law can deprive him of 
that right, which he derives from 
the law of nature. — ^YESLEY. 

Libeety is to the collective 
body what health is to every indi- 
vidual body. Witliout health no 
pleasure can be tasted by man; 
without liberty no happiness can 
be enjoyed by society. — ^Bolixg- 

BEOKE. 

ISToTHixG can be of so much 
consequence to us as liberty. It 
is the foundation of all honor, and 
the chief privilege and glory of 
our natures. — Peice. 

The only liberty that is valu- 
able is a liberty connected with 
order, that not only exists along 
with order and virtue, but which 
cannot exist at all without them. 
It inheres in good and steady gov- 
ernment, as in its substance and 
vital principle. — Bueke. 

O LIBEETY, thou goddess, heavenly 

bright. 
Profuse of bliss, and pregnant 

with delight ! 
Eternal pleasures in thy presence 

reign, 



170 



LIBERTY— LIES — LIFE. 



And smiling plenty loads thy wan 

ton train ; 
Eased of her load, subjection grows 

more light, 
And poverty looks cheerful in thy 

siglit ; 
Thou mak'st the gloomy face of 

nature gay, 
Giv'st beauty to the sun, and 

pleasure to the day. 

Addisox. 

The liberty of a people consists 
in being governed by laws wiiich 
they have made themselves. Un- 
der whatsoever form it be of gov- 
ernment, the liberty of a private 
man in being master of his own time 
and actions as far as consists with 
the laws of God and of his coun- 
try. — COWLET. 

'Tis liberty alone that gives the 
flower 

Of fleeting life its luster and per- 
fume; 

And we are weeds without it. 
Addisox. 



lies. 

There is scarce a time when 
men meet together when they 
could not, if they listened for it, 
hear the sharp, shrill singing of 
ten thousand petty lies buzzing 
around them. Men have violated 
truth so long that they have come 
to lie almost unconsciously. — IL 

W. l^EECIIER. 



m. 

Life can never be better ad- 
ventured than when it shaO be 
gain to lose it. — Hall. 

So LIVE with men as consider- 
ing always that God sees thee. So 
pray to God as if every man heard 
thee. Do nothing which thou 
wouldst not have God see done. 
Desire nothing which may either 
wrong thy profession to ask, or 
God's honor to grant. — Bishop 
Hexshaw. 

Life was given for noble pur- 
poses, and, therefore, we must not 
part with it foolishly. It must 
not be thrown up in a pet, nor 
sacrificed to a quarrel, nor whined 
away in love. — Colliee. 

The preservation of life should 
be only a secondary concern ; the 
direction of it, the principal. 

The history of a man's own life 
is to himself the most interesting 
history in the world, next to that 
of the Scriptures. Every man is 
an original and solitary character. 
None can either understand or feel 
the book of his own life like him- 
self. The lives of other men are 
to him dry and vapid when set be- 
side his own. He enters very 
little into the spirit of the Old 
Testament who does not see God 
calling on him to turn over the 
pages of this history when he says 
to the Jew, "Thou shalt remem- 



LIFE. 



171 



her all t3ae way which the Lord 
thy G©d3ed thee these forty years." 
He sees God teaching the Jew to 
lock at the records of his deUver- 
ance from the Red Sea, of the 
Tuanna showered down on him 
from iieaven, and of the Amalek- 
ites put to flight before him. 
There are such grand events in 
the life and experience of every 
Christian. It may be well for 
him to review them often. — Cecil. 

Mex complain that life is short, 
and yet throw away much of it, 
and are weary of many of its parts. 
They complain that the day is long, 
and the night is long, and they 
want company, and seek their arts 
to drive the time, and then weep 
because it is gone too soon. 

Seize, mortals ! seize the transient 

hour: 

Improve each moment as it flies : 

Life's a short summer, man a 

flower : 

He dies, alas ! how soon he dies! 

NoE love thy life, nor hate, but 

what thou liv'st 
Live well. Milton. 

I CONGRATULATE you and my- 
self that life is fast passing away. 
What a superlatively grand and 
consoling idea is that of death! 
"Without this radiant idea, this 
delightful morning-star, indicating 
that the luminary of eternity is 
going to rise, life would, to my 
view, darken into midnight mel- 



ancholy. 0, the expectation of 
living here, and living thus al- 
ways, would be indeed a prospect 
of overwhelming despair! But 
thanks to that fatal decree that 
dooms us to die; thanks to that 
Gospel which opens the \ision& of 
an endless life ; and thanks above 
aU to that Saviour-friend who Las 
promised to conduct the faithftd 
through the sacred trance of death, 
into scenes of paradise and ever- 
lasting delight. — John Foster, 

To COMPLAIN that life has no 
joys, while there is a single crea- 
ture whom we can relieve by our 
bounty, assist by our counsels, or 
enliven by our presence, is to la- 
ment the loss of that which we 
possess, and- is just as rational as 
to die of thirst with the cup in our 
hands. — Fitzosborne. 

TTe bring into the world with 
us a poor, needy, uncertain life, 
short at the longest, and unquiet 
at the best; all the imaginations 
of the witty and the wise have 
been perpetually busied to find out 
the ways how to revive it with 
pleasures, or relieve it with diver- 
sions; how to compose it with 
ease, and settle it with safety. To 
some of these ends have been em- 
ployed the institutions of lawgiv- 
ers, the reasonings of philosophers, 
the inventions of poets, the pains 
of laboring, and the extravagances 
of voluptuous men. All the world 
is perpetually at work about noth- 
ing else, but only that our poor 



172 



LIFE. 



mortal lives should pass the easier 
and happier for that little time we 
possess them, or else end the bet- 
ter when we lose them. — Sie ^Y. 
Temple. 

It is very wonderful to see per- 
sons of the best sense passing away 
a dozen hours together in shuffling 
and dividing a pack of cards, with 
no other conversation but what is 
made up of a few game phrases, 
and no other ideas but those of 
black or red spots ranged together 
in different figures. Would not a 
man laugh to hear any one of this 
species complaining that life is 
short ? — Spectatoe. 

Keep forever in view the mo- 
mentous value of life; aim at its 
worthiest use, its sublimest end; 
spurn with disdain those foolish 
trifles and frivolous vanities which 
so often consume life, as the locusts 
did Egypt; and devote yourself, 
with the ardor of a passion, to at- 
tain the most divine improvements 
of the human soul. In short, hold 
yourself in preparation to make 
the transition to another life, when- 
ever you shall be claimed by the 
Lord of the world. — John Fostee. 

Life, like every other blessing, 
Derives its value from its use alone. 
Johnson. 

Though our life be short and un- 
certain, yet it is a great deal that we 
may do by way of preparation for 
another world, if we begin and set 
out betimes, and be good husbands 



of the present opportunities. It 
is a great way that we may go in 
a short time, if we be always mov- 
ing and pressing forward. But 
the mischief is, many men pass 
flfty or sixty years in the world, 
and when they are just going out 
of it they bethink themselves, and 
step back, as it were, to do some- 
thing which they had all this while 
forgot ; namely, the main business 
for which they came into the world, 
to repent of their sins and reform 
their lives, and make their peace 
with God, and in time to prepare 
for eternity. This, which is for- 
gotten and deferred to the last, 
ought to have been first thought 
of, and to have been made the 
great business of their whole lives. 

TiLLOTSON. 

Life is made up, not of great 
sacrifices or duties, but of little 
things, in which smiles, and kind- 
nesses, and small obligations, given 
habitually, are what win and pre- 
serve the heart, and secure com- 
fort.— Sie H. Davy. 

Life, all life, is expenditure : we 
have it, but as continually losing 
it; we have the use of it, but as 
continually wasting it. Suppose 
a man confined in some fortress, 
under the doom to stay there until 
his death; and suppose there is 
for his use a dark reservoir of wa- 
ter, to which it is certain none 
can ever be added. He knows, 
suppose, that the quantity is not 
very great; he cannot penetrate 



LIFE. 



to ascertain how much, but it may 
be very little. He has drawn from 
it, by means of a fountain, a good 
while already, and draws from it 
every day. But how would he 
feel each time of drawing, and 
each time of thinking of it ? Not 
as if he had a perennial spring to 
go to; not, "I have a reservoir, I 
may be at ease." No; but, ''I 
had "water yesterday ; I have wa- 
ter to-day ; but my having had it, 
and my having it to-day, is the 
very cause I shall not have it on 
some day that is approaching. 
And at the same time I am com- 
pelled to this fatal expenditure!" 
So of our mortal, transient life! 
And yet men are very indisposed 
to admit the plain truth, that life 
is a thing which they are in no 
other way possessing than as nec- 
essarily consuming ; and that even 
in this imperfect sense of posses- 
sion, it becomes every day less a 
possession I — Johx Fostee. 

If we do not weigh and consid- 
er to what end this life is given 
us, and thereupon order and dis- 
pose it aright, pretend what we will 
to the arithmetic, we do not, we 
cannot, so much as number our 
days in the narrowest and most 
limited signification. — Claeendox. 

Our life is but a passage to eter- 
nity ; it ought therefore to be filled 
up with meditations on it and 
preparations for it. Who would 
not deny himself for a time, that 
he may enjoy himself forever? 



Remember, you are at the door of 
eternity, and have better work to 
do than to trifle away time. Those 
hours which you spend in devo- 
tion, or in doing good, are the best 
of your time, and will have the 
sweetest influence on your last 
hours. — Is. Mason, 

The conclusion at which I have 
arrived is, that without temper- 
ance there is no health ; without 
virtue no order; without religion 
no happiness; and that the sum 
of our being is to live wisely, so- 
berly, and righteously. — M'Don- 



The last act of life is sometimes 
like the last number in a sum, ten 
times greater than all the rest. — 
Collier. 

Live every day as though it were 

your last, 
And make each day a critic on the 

past. 

TTxLEss yon live in Christ you 
are dead to God. — R. Hill, 

This life is a passage, not a port. 

Life, like an ill-gotten estate, 
consumes insensibly, in despite of 
all imaginable frugality. Infancy 
is a state of hope, and has the 
tenderaess of parents, or the com- 
passion of strangers to support it ; 
youth, like a blossom, gives us 
beauty in hand and fruit in pros- 
pect; but age grows worse and 



174 



LIFE. 



■worse upon the progress, sinks 
deeper in sorrow and neglect, and 
has no relief to expect but the 
grave. — Collier. 

Life's the flourishing array 
Of the proud summer meadow, 

which to-daj 
Wears her green plush, and is to- 
morrow hay. QuARLES. 

The shortest and surest way to 
live with honor in the world, is to 
be in reality what we would ap- 
pear to be ; and if we observe, we 
shall find that all humane virtues 
increase and strengthen themselves 
by the practice and experience of 
them. — Socrates. 

Life bears us on like the stream 
of a mighty river. We may be 
shipwrecked, but we cannot be 
delayed; for, rough or smooth, 
the river hastens toward its home, 
till the roar of the ocean is in our 
ears, and the waves beneath our 
feet, and the floods are lifted up 
around us, and we take our leave 
of earth and its inhabitants, until 
of our further voyage there is no 
witness save the Infinite and Eter- 
naL 

The time of life is short; 
To spend that shortness basely, 
'twere too long. 

Shakspeare. 

Life is a wonderful gift. It 
dwells in beasts to go out and 
never to be let in again ; but it 



dwells in man as a spark of God's 
own kindling, Avhich is never to 
be extinguished, but to burn for 
ever and ever. — E. Hill. 

As the rose-tree is composed of 
the sweetest flowers and the sharp- 
est thorns, as the heavens are 
sometimes overcast, alternately 
tempestuous and serene, so is the 
life of man intermingled with 
hopes and fears, with joys and 
sorrows, with pleasures and with 
pains. — BuRTOx. 

Infaxot, adolescence, manhood, 
age. 

Are always moving onward, al- 
ways losing 

Themselves in one another, lost 
at length 

Like undulations on the strand of 
death. 

The sage of threescore years and 
ten looks back. 

With many a pang of lingering 
tenderness. 

And many a shuddering conscience- 
fit, on what 

He has been, is not, cannot be 
again, 

ISTor trembles less with fear and 
hope to think 

What he is now he cannot long 
continue, 

And what he must be through un- 
counted ages. 

To ENJOY long life is almost the 
universal wish; and as it seems 
natural, it cannot be altogether 
unlawful ; but it should always be 



LIFE — LOVE. 



175 



formed in submission to God, for 
who can tell whether in wishing 
for long life we do not wish for a 
prolongation of distress and mis- 
ery ? We may live till we behold 
the death of all that we love, or 
surnve all who love us; we may 
outlive our reputation, and be a 
burden to ourselves and others. 
Ke tlierefore that prays for long 
life, in fact prays for sickness and 
sorrow, and if it comes upon him 
he must not complain. — Dii. Blate. 

A HOLT life, spent in the service 
of God and in communion with 
him, is, without doubt, the most 
pleasant and comfortable life that 
any man can live in this world. — 
Melaxchthox. 

There is nothing which must 
end, to be valued for its continu- 
ance. If hours, days, months, and 
years pass away, it is no matter 
what hour, what day, what month, 
or what year we die. The ap- 
plause of a good actor is due to 
him at whatever scene of the play 
he makes his exit. It is thus in 
the life of a man of sense. A short 
life is suificient to manifest him 
a man of honor and virtue. When 
he ceases to be such he has lived 
too long; and while he is such it 
is of no consequence to him how 
long he shall be so, provided he is 
so to his life's end. 

The web of our life is of a min- 
gled yarn, good and ill together; 
our virtues would be proud if our 

12 



faults whipped them not ; and our 
crimes would despair if they were 
not cherished by our virtues. — 
Shakspeaee. 

He lives long that lives well, 
and time misspent is not lived but 
lost. Besides, God is better than 
his promise, if he takes from hira 
a long lease and gives him a free- 
hold of a better value. — Fullee. 



foijc. 

A SMALL ftxvor from some noble 
personage is a high obligation. If 
a king from his throne only vouch- 
safes us a favorable look, we go 
away delighted; but when we 
think of the King of kings giving 
his only Son to die for us, nothnig 
can be imagined in any degree 
comparable to such love as this. 
And when we consider that we 
were then enemies to his Divine 
Majesty, and had deserved eternal 
death frum Ins justice, well it may 
be said tluU God not only declares 
but commands his love. He 
makes it appear Avonderful and 
illustrious to us, in that, while we 
were yet sinners, Christ died for 
us. This is the most matchless 
instance of love mortal ears ever 
heard, or the thoughts of any 
heart can conceive. This is tlie 
strongest fire we can possibly 
stand by to have our frozen hearts 
warmed and intiamed. O come 
hither, then, and frequently behold 
the wonderful beneficence of God 



176 



LOVE. 



to us! Let us think })roperly of 
the love of God, and surely we 
shall be overcome, surely we shall 
be captives of such almighty tri- 
umphant love! — Heevey. 

KoTHixG melts and conquers 
like love. This has been proved 
to us by tbe love of Christ. — K. 
Hill. 

No COED or cable can draw so 
forcibly or bind so fast as love 
can do with a single thread. — 

BuETOis"-. 

Ix love the freshness and charm 
of youth have caught men's atten- 
tion, and they have pronounced 
the first love best. But it is the 
poorest. One does not know how 
to love till he has felt the disci- 
pline of life. Young love is a 
flame ; very pretty, often very 
hot and fierce, but still only lig:ht 
and flickering. The love of the 
older and disciplined heart is as 
coals; deep-burning, unquencha- 
ble. — H. W. Beechee. 

If legislators were to meet to- 
gether to make a law for the uni- 
versal good of mankind, could 
they make one equal to that 
''Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
thyself^'— R. Hill. 

ScoEN no man's love, though of 

mean degree ; 
Much less make any one thine 

enemy. Heebeet. 



God only requires of his adult 
children that their hearts be truly 
purified, and that they ofi'er him 
continually the wishes and vows 
that naturally spring from perfect 
love. For these desires, being 
the genuine fruits of love, are the 
most perfect prayers that can 
spring from it. — John TTeslet. 

Let us not love those things 
much which we are not sure to 
live long to love, nor to have long 
if we should. — Fullee. 

If thou neglectest thy love to 
thy neighbor, in vain thou pro- 
fessest thy love to God; for by 
thy love to God thy love to thy 
neighbor is gotten, and by thy 
love to thy neighbor thy love to 
God is nourished. — Quaeles. 

"Love covers a multitude of 
sins." When a scar cannot be 
taken away the next kind oflice is 
to hide it. Love is never so blind 
as when it is to spy faults. It is 
like the painter who, being to 
draw the picture of a friend hav- 
ing a blemish in one eye, Avould 
picture only the other side of his 
face. It is a noble and great thing 
to cover the blemishes and to ex- 
cuse the failings of a friend, to 
draw a curtain before his stains, 
and to display his perfections ; to 
bury his weaknesses in silence, 
bat to proclaim his virtues upon 
the housetop. — South. 

The love of God! who can 
fathom it? We soon cloy with 



"1 



LYIXG — MADXESS—MAGXAXIMITY — MALICE. 177 



honey ; 'tis not very hard to satisfy 
ourselves with sugar; even of 
bread we may tire. But who ever 
tired of air ? All day we breathe 
it, at morning, at noon, at night, 
all night, all our lives, and we 
are not weary. Love is the vital 
au- of the soul. — H. W. Beechee. 

Life without love — O ! it would be 

A world without a sun ; 
Cold as the snow-capped mount- 
ain; dark — 

A myriad nights in one. 
A barren scene, without one spot 

Of green amid the waste, 
Without one blossom of delight, 

Of feeling, or of taste. 



We gain nothing by lying but 
the disadvantage of not being 
credited when we speak the truth. 
— Aristotle. 



It is a madness to run away 
from punishment, and not from 
sin. — Hall. 

madxess to tliink use of strong- 
est wines 

And strongest drinks our chief 
support of health, 

When God with these forbidden 
made choice to rear 



His mighty champion, strong 

above compare, 
Whose drink was only from the 

liquid brook. AIilton. 



He who, being master of the 
fittest moment to crush his enemy, 
magnanimously neglects it, is born 
to be a conqueror.— Latater. 

Magxaximitt is sufl&ciently de- 
fined by its name; yet we may 
say of it that it is the good sense 
of pride, and the noblest way of 
acquiring applause. It renders 
the soul superior to the troubles, 
disorders, and emotions which the 
appearance of great danger might 
excite, and it is by this quahty 
that heroes maintain their tran- 
quillity, and preserve the free use 
of their reason in the most sur- 
prising and dreadful accidents. It 
admires the same quality in an 
enemy ; and fame, glory, conquests, 
desire of opportunities to pardon 
and oblige their opposers, are 
what glow in the minds of the 
brave. — Stretch. 



To PASS a hard and ill-natured 
reflection upon an undesigning 
action; to invent, or which is 
equally bad, to propagate a vexa- 
tious report, without color and 



ITS 



MALICE. 



grounds ; to pkmder an innocent 
man of his character and good 
name, a jewel which perhaps he 
has starved himself to purchase, 
and probably would hazard his 
life to secure; to rob him at 
the same time of his happiness 
and peace of mind, perhaps his 
bread; the bread, may be, of a 
virtuous family; and all this, 
as Solomon says of the madman 
who casteth firebrands, arrojvs, 
and death, and saith, "Am I not 
in sport ?" all this out of wanton- 
ness, and oftener from worse mo- 
tives ; the whole appears such a 
complication of badness as requires 
no words or warmth of fancy to 
aggravate. — Steeiv^e. 

Malice is a thing full of impa- 
tience, and hates delay of execu- 
tion next to mercy. — Hall. 

Malice scorned, puts out 
Itself; but argued, gives a kind of 

credit 
To a false accusation. 

Massixger. 

Malice drinks one half of its 
own poison. — Seneca. 

The malicious man is so much 
no man's foe as his own, for while 
lie is out of charity with others, 
God is so with him. If he loved 
]jiinsclf he would not hate his 
brotlier. I will love all men for his 
s;ike that made them. But the 
Christian, because he is God's 
sun, I will love him doubly for 



his own sake, for his Father's 
sake. — Bishop Hexshaw. 

Whoever feels pain in hearing 
a good character of his neighbor 
will feel a pleasure in the reverse. 
And those who despair to rise in 
distinction by their virtues are 
happy if others can be depressed 
to a level with themselves. — 
Franklin. 

I HAVE taken particular pleasure 
in reading the accounts of the say- 
ings and behavior of the old 
philosophers respecting malice and 
detraction. " The way to silence 
calumny," says Bias, "is always 
to be exercised in that which 
is praiseworthy." Socrates, after 
being sentenced to death, told 
his friends that he had always 
accustomed himself to regard 
truth and not censure, and there- 
fore he was not troubled at his 
condemnation, because he was not 
guilty. Epictetus says: "If any 
one speaks ill of thee, consider 
whether it be true or not. If it 
be true, reform thyself; if it be 
false, thou hast the comforts of 
innocence." Above all we should 
take notice of what Plato said 
upon this subject, being told that 
he had many enemies that spoke 
ill of him. "It is no matter," 
said he, "I will endeavor so to 
hve that none shall believe them." 
This is the best way of drawing 
tlie sting out of reproaches, and a 
good method to avoid sinful anger 
and revenge for malice and inju- 



]^[AX. 



iro 



ries, as well as to make even slan- 
der turn to our benefit. — Guaed- 

lAX. 

^^^ 

|it;tit. 

It is only the man supremely 
holy, who, by the faculty of 
knowing thoroughly and compre- 
hending perfectly the primitive 
laws of living beings, is worthy 
of possessing supreme authority 
and commanding men; who, by 
possessing a soul grand, firm, 
constant, and imperturbable, is 
capable of making justice and 
equity reign; who, by his faculty 
of being always honest, simple, 
upright, grave, and just, is capa- 
ble of attracting respect and ven- 
eration; who, by his faculty of 
being clothed with the ornaments 
of the mind and the talents pro- 
cured by assiduous study, and by 
the enlightenment that is given 
by an exact investigation of the 
most hidden things and the most 
subtle principles, is capable of dis- 
cerning with accuracy the true 
from the false, and good from evil. 
— Confucius. 

If man is not made for God, 
why is he happy only in God? 
If man is made for God, why is he 
opposed to God ? —Pascal. 

Man is like a watch ; if evening 
and morning he is not Avonnd up 
with prayer and circumspection 
he is unprofitable and false, or 
serves to mislead, — Feltetam. 



TnosE who say tliat man is too 
insignificant to merit communion 
with God should be very great to 
judge of it. — Pascal. 

^Iax is the world's liigh priest ; he 
doth present 
The sacrifice for all; while they 
below 
Unto the service mutter an as- 
sent. 
Such as springs use that fall, and 
winds that blow. 

IlEIiBERT. 

He is worthy of honor who will- 
eth the good of every man ; and he 
is much unworthy thereof who 
seeketh his own profit, and op- 
presseth others. — Ciceeo. 

Men sometimes afi'ect to deny 
the depravity of our race ; but it 
is as clearly taught in the law- 
yer's office, and in the court of 
justice, as in the Bible itself. — 
Edwaeds. 

Man is no sooner made than he 
is set to work. Neither greatness 
nor perfection can privilege a 
folded hand. How much more 
cheerfully we go about our busi- 
ness, so much nearer we come to 
our paradise. — Bishop Hall. 

Man, as he consists of a double 
nature, flesh and spirit, so is he 
placed in a middle rank, between 
an angel, which is a spirit, and a 
beast, which is flesh, partaking 
of the qualities and performing the 



180 



MAN". 



acts of both. He is angelical 
his understanding, in his sensual 
affections bestial ; and to whether 
of these he most incline and com- 
forteth himself, that part wins 
more of the other, and gives a de 
nomination to him ; so as he that 
was before half angel, half beast, 
if he be drowned in sensuality, 
hath lost the angel and is become 
beast ; if he be wholly taken up 
with heavenly meditations, he 
hath quit the beast and is im- 
proved angelical. It is hard to 
hold an equal temper ; either he 
must degenerate into a beast or 
be advanced to an angel. — Bishop 
Hall. 

Max being made a reasonable, 
and so a thinking creature, there 
is nothing more worthy of his 
beiftg than the right direction 
and employment of his thoughts, 
since upon this depends both his 
usefulness to the public, and his 
own present and future benefit in 
all respects. — Wm. Penjst. 

If a man's conduct shows that 
he thinks more of treasure on 
earth than of treasure in heav- 
en; and if, when he has got the 
world, or some part of it, he 
hugs it close, and appears exceed- 
ingly reluctant to let even a little 
of it go for pious and charitable 
uses, though God promises him a 
thousandfold more in heaven for 
it, he gives not the least evidence 
of his being weaned from the 
world, or that he prefers heavenly 



things to the things of this world. 
Judging by his practice, there is 
sad reason to believe that his 
profession is in vain. — Peesidext 
Edwards. 

Natueally, men are prone to 
spin themselves a web of opinions 
out of their own brain, and to 
have a religion that may be called 
their own. Men are far readier to 
make themselves a faith, than to 
receive that which God hath 
formed to their hands; and they 
are far readier to receive a doc- 
trine that tends to their carnal 
commodity, or honor, or delight, 
than one that tends to self-denial. 
— Baxter. 

The proverbial wisdom of the 
populace at gates, on roads, and in 
markets, instructs the attentive 
ear of him who studies man more 
fully than a thousand rules osten- 
tatiously arranged. — Lavater. 

How POOR, how rich, how abject, 
how august, 

How complicate, how wonderful 
is man! 

Distinguished link in being's end- 
less chain ! 

Midway from nothing to the 
Deity! 

Dim miniature of greatness abso- 
lute! 

An heir of glory ! a frail child of 
dust! 

Helpless immortal! insect infi- 
nite! 

A worm ! a God ! Young. 



MAX. 



LSI 



There is a diabolical trio exist- 
ing in the natural man, impla- 
cable, inextinguishable, co-oper- 
ative and consentaneous; pride, 
envy, and hate : pride, that makes 
us fancy we deserve all the goods 
that others possess ; envy, that 
some should be admired while we 
are overlooked ; and hate, because 
all that is bestowed on others 
diminishes the sum we think due 
to ourselves. — Coltox. 

Xo MAX was ever endowed with 
a judgment so correct and judi- 
cious, in regulating his life, but 
that circumstances, time, and ex- 
perience would teach him some- 
thing new, and apprise him that 
of those things with which he 
thought himself the best ac- 
quainted he knew nothing ; and 
that those ideas, which in theory 
appeared the most advantageous, 
were found, when brought into 
practice, to be altogether inappli- 
cable. — Terence. 

God has given to every man a 
peculiar constitution. Xo man is 
to say, " I am such or such a man, 
and I can be no other. Such or 
such is my way, and I am what 
God made me." This is true in 
a sound sense ; but, in an unsound 
sense, it has led men foolishly and 
wickedly to charge their eccen- 
tricities, and even their crimes, on 
God. It is every man's duty to 
understand his own constitution, 
and to apply to it the rein or the 
spur as it may need. All men can- 



not do, nor ouglit they to do all 
things in the same way, nor even 
the same things. But there are 
conmion points of duty on which 
all men of all habits are to meet. 
The free horse is to be checked, 
perhaps up hill, and the sluggish 
one to be urged. But the same 
spirit which would have exhausted 
itself before shows itself probably 
in resistance down hill, when he 
feels the breeching press upon 
him, but he must be whipped out 
of his resistance. — Cecil. 

Like leaves on trees the race of 
man is found, 

Xow green in youth, now wither- 
ing on the ground. 

Another race the following spring 
supplies. 

They fall successive, and success- 
ive rise. 

So generations in their course de- 
cay, 

So flourish these when those are 
passed away. 

A MAX who has liberty to draw 
without limit upon a wealthy 
friend will not be apprehensive of 
want, though his own resources 
may be scanty. Let us not be 
fearful. Elijah was faint with his 
journey, and requested that he 
might die; but angels brought him 
food from heaven, and in the 
strengtli of that meal he traveled 
forty days, even to Iloreb, the 
mount of God. 

When bad men combine the 
good must associate, else they will 



182 



MA^^. 



fall, one bj one, an nnpitied sac- 
rifice in a contemptible struggle. — 

BUEKE. 

Wno dares do all that may become 

a man, 
And dares no more, he is a man 

indeed. Shakspeaee. 

If there are men whose weak 
point has never appeared, it is be- 
cause it has never been properly 
sought for. — La EocnEFOucAULD. 

If you desire to have his pic- 
ture, here it is : the true gentleman 
is one that is God's servant, the 
world's master, and his own man ; 
his virtue is his business, his study 
his recreation, contentedness his 
rest, and happiness his reward. 
God is his father, the Church is 
his mother, the saints his-«breth- 
ren, all that need him his friends, 
and heaven his inheritance. Ke- 
ligion is his mistress, piety and 
justice her ladies of honor, devo- 
tion is his chaplain, chastity his 
chamberlain, sobriety his butler, 
temperance his cook, hospitality 
liis housekeeper, prudence his 
steward, charity his treasure, pi- 
ety his mistress of the house, and 
discretion the porter to let in and 
out as is most fit. Thus is his 
v/hole family made up of virtues, 
and he the master of his family. 
He is necessitated to take the 
world in his way to heaven; but 
he walks through it as fiist as he 
can, and all his business by the 
way is to make himself and oth- 



ers happy. Take him all in two 
words, he is a man and a Chris- 
tian. — Clemext Ellis. 

Tell me what are the prevail- 
ing sentiments that occupy the 
minds of your young men, and I 
will tell you what is to be the 
character of the next generation. 

BUEKE. 

A WISE and good man will turn 
examples of all sorts to his own 
advantage. The good he will 
make his patterns, and strive to 
equal or excel them. The bad he 
will by all means avoid. — Thomas 
A Kempis. 

Max, in society, is like a flower 
Blown in its native bud. 'Tis 

there alone 
His faculties expanded in full 

bloom 
Shine out, there only reach their 

proper use. Cowper. 

Diogenes, being asked who were 
the noblest men in the world, re- 
plied, those who despise riches, 
glory, pleasures, and lastly, life; 
who overcome the contrary of all 
those things, namely, poverty, in- 
famy, pain, and death, bearing 
them with an undaunted mind. 
And Socrates, being asked what 
true nobility was, answered, 'tem- 
perance of mind and body. 

Good men are the stars, the 
planets, of the age wherein they 
live, and illustrate the times. God 



MAX. 



183 



(lid never let them be wanting in 
the world : as Abel, for an exam- 
ple, of innocency ; Enoch, of pu- 
rity ; Noah, of trnst in God's mer- 
cies ; Abraham, of faith ; and so of 
the rest. — Bex Jonsox. 

You ought so much the more to 
be afraid to otfend a godly man, 
as he is the more ready to pardon, 
because 'tis the greatest impiety 
to abuse a man who is provoked 
at no affront ; and the Lord more 
severely revenges him who doth 
not desire to be revenged. — St. 
Paulix. 

A MAX has no more right to say 
an uncivil thing than to act one; 
no more right to say a rude thing 
to another than to knock him 
down. — JoHxsox, 

A MAx's best monument is his 
virtuous actions. Foolish is the 
hope of immortality and future 
praise by the cost of senseless 
stone, when the passenger shall 
only say. Here lies a fair stone 
and a filthy carcass. That only 
can report thee rich ; but for other 
praises, thyself must build thy 
monument alive, and write thy 
own epitaph in honest and honor- 
able actions, which are so much 
more noble than the other, as liv- 
ing men are better than dead 
stones. IvTay, I know not if the 
other be not the way to work a 
perpetual succession of infamy, 
while the censorious reader, upon 
occasion thereof, shall comment 



upon thy bad life; whereas in 
this every man's heart is a tomb, 
and every man's tongue writeth 
an epitaph upon the well-behaved. 
Either I will procure me such a 
monument to be remembered by, 
or else it is better to be inglorious 
than infamous. — ^Hall. 

The esteem of wise and good 
men is the greatest of all temporal 
encouragements to virtue; and it 
is a mark of an abandoned spirit 
to have no regard to it. — Bfese. 

TThat have we to do but to 
eat and drink, like horses or like 
swine; but to sport and i^Iay, like 
children or ap>es; but to bicker 
and scufBe about ti"ifles and im- 
pertinences, like idiots ? TVhat, 
but to scrape and scramble for use- 
less pelf; to hunt after empty 
shows and shadows of honors or 
the vain fancies and dreams of 
men? What, but to wallow or 
bask in sordid pleasures, the which 
soon degenerate into remoi'se and 
bitterness? to which sort of em- 
ployments were a man confined, 
what a pitiful thing would he be, 
and how inconsiderable were his 
life ! Were a man designed only, 
like a fly, to buzz about here for 
a time, sucking in the air and lick- 
ing the dew, then soon to vanish 
back into nothing, or to be tj-ans- 
formed into worms, how sorry and 
despicable a thing were he! and 
such without religion we should 
be. But it supplieth us with busi- 
ness of a most worthy nature and 



184 



MA^. 



lofty importance ; it setteth us up- 
on doing things great and noble 
as can be; it engageth us to free 
our minds from all fond conceits, 
and cleanse our hearts from all 
corrupt affections; to curb our 
brutish appetites, to tame our wild 
passions, to correct our perverse 
inclinations, to conform the dispo- 
sitions of our soul and the actions 
of our life to the eternal laws of 
righteousness and goodness. It 
putteth us upon the imitation of 
God, and aiming at the resem- 
blance of his perfections; upon 
obtaining a friendship, and main- 
taining a correspondence with the 
High and Holy One ; upon fitting 
our minds for conversation and 
society with the wisest and purest 
spirits above; upon providing for 
an immortal state; upon the ac- 
quist of joy and glory everlasting. 
It employeth us in the divinest 
actions of promoting virtue, of 
performing beneficence, of serv- 
ing the public, and doing good to 
all ; the being exercised in which 
things doth indeed render a man 
highly considerable, and his life 
excellently valuable. — Baeeow. 

Max on his death-bed hath a 
double prospect, which in his life- 
time the interposition of pleasure 
and miseries debarred him from. 
The good man looks upward and 
sees heaven open, with Stephen 
and the glorious angels ready to 
carry up his soul. The wicked 
man looks downward and sees 
three terrible spectacles — death. 



judgment, hell; one beyond an- 
other, and all to be passed thor- 
ough by his soul. I marvel not 
that the godly have been so cheer- 
ful in death that those torments, 
whose very sight hath overcome 
the beholders, have seemed easy 
to them. I marvel not that a 
wicked man is so loth to hear of 
death, so dejected when he feeleth 
sickness, and so desperate when 
he feeleth the pangs of death ; nor 
that every Balaam would fain die 
the death of the righteous. Hence- 
forth I will envy none but a good 
man ; I will pity nothing so much 
as the prosperity of the wicked. — 
Hall. 

He knows very little of mankind 
who expects by any facts or rea- 
soning to convince a determined 
party-man. — Lavatee. 

i^EVEE expecting to find perfec- 
tion in men, and not looking for 
divine attributes in created beings, 
in my commerce with my cotem- 
poraries I have found much human 
virtue. I have seen not a little 
public spirit, a real subordination 
of interest to duty, and a decent 
and regulated sensibility to honest 
fame and reputation. The age un- 
questionably produces (whether in 
a greater or less number than in 
former times, I know not) daring 
profligates and insidious hypo- 
crites. What then? Am I not 
to avail myself of whatever good 
is to be found in the world, be- 
cause of the mixture of evil that 



MAX. 



185 



will always be in it ? The small- 
uess of the quantity in currency 
only heightens the value. They 
who raise suspicions on the good, 
on account of the behavior of ill 
men, are of the party of the latter. 

— BUEKE. 

He by whose writings the heart 
is rectified, the appetites counter- 
acted, and the passions repressed, 
may be considered as not unprofit- 
able to the great republic of hu- 
manity, even though his own 
behavior should not always ex- 
emplify his rules. His instruc- 
tions may diifuse their influence 
to regions in which it will not be 
inquired, whether the author be 
good or bad; to times when all 
his faults and all his follies shall 
be lost in forgetfulness among 
things of no concern or importance 
to the world ; and he may kindle 
in thousands and ten thousands 
that tiame which burned but dim- 
ly in himself, through the fumes 
of passion or the damps of coward- 
ice. The vicious moralist may be 
considered as a taper by which we 
are lighted through the labyrinth 
of complicated passions; he ex- 
tends his radiance further than his 
heart, and guides all that are with- 
in view, but burns only those 
who make too near approaches. 
— Johnson. 

It has been found by the expe- 
rience of mankind, that not even 
the best seasons of life are able 
to supply sufficient gratifications 



without anticipating uncertain fe- 
licities. It cannot, surely, be sup- 
posed that old age, worn with 
labors, harassed with anxieties, 
and tortured with diseases, should 
have any gladness of its own, or 
feel any satisfaction from the con- 
templation of the present. All 
the comfort that now can be ex- 
pected must be recalled from the 
past, or borrowed from the future : 
the past is very soon exhausted ; 
all the events or actions of which 
the memory can afford pleasure 
are quickly recollected; and the 
future lies beyond the grave, where 
it can be reached only by vu-tue 
and devotion. 

Piety is the only proper and ad- 
equate relief of decaying man. He 
that grows old without religious 
hope, as he declines into imbecility, 
and feels pains and sorrows inces- 
santly crowding upon him, falls 
into a gulf of bottomless misery, 
in which every reflection must 
plunge him deeper, and where he 
finds only new gradations of an- 
guish and precipices of horror. 

Man, know thyself; all wisdom 
centers there. Young. 

The study of man is the doctrine 
of unisons and discords between 
ourselves and others. All men 
are either stationary, progressive, 
or retrograde. To know mankind 
we must know their company and 
pleasures, and therefore should 
borrow the eyes of the deaf and 
the ears of the blind. Actions, 



18G 



MAN. 



looks, words, gestures, and steps 
form the alphabet by which you 
may spell characters. Three things 
characterize man, person, fate, and 
merit ; the harmony of these con- 
stitutes real grandeur. Who cen- 
sures with modesty will praise with 
sincerity. All great minds sympa- 
thize. — Lavater. 

Matt is an apostate creature, 
fallen from his high original, and 
depraved in all his faculties ; prone 
to evil, which is natural and easy 
to him, but disinclined to virtue, 
which is difficult and laborious; 
not slightly tainted with sin, but 
radically and to the very root. 
This has always been the condi- 
tion of man since the fall, in an- 
cient and modern times, in bar- 
barous or civilized nations; and 
whether we read, or hear, or act, 
or think, or feel, the same humil- 
iating lesson is forced upon us. 
Take even the best of the human 
species, the watchful, the diligent, 
and self-denying Christian ; go 
with him to his closet, and ask 
his opinion of the corruptions of 
the heart, and he will tell you 
that he knows it from self-obser- 
vation, and every day's experience 
strengthens this conviction; yea, 
that every hour he feels fresh 
reason to deplore his want of sim- 
plicity in intention, his infirmity 
of purpose, his low views, his self- 
ish, unworthy desires, his back- 
wardness to set about his duty, 
and his languor and coldness in 
performing it; so that he finds 



himself obliged continually to con- 
fess that he feels within him two 
opposite principles, and that he 
cannot do the things that he 

would, WlLBEEFORCE. 

The opinions and manners of 
mankind are always changing, and 
we look in vain for any standard 
to fix any of these. In vain we 
suppose that what is now so well- 
established will always endure ; 
systems of philosophy, which were 
once received and taught as infal- 
lible truths, are now exploded; 
modes of living, behaving, and 
spending time, as well as the pur- 
suits of the busy and the enter- 
tainments of the gay, are frequent- 
ly changing. As one wave effaces 
the ridge which the former had 
made on the sand by the sea-shore, 
so every succeeding age obliterates 
the opinions and modes of the pre- 
ceding. But what is most remark- 
able, one man differs not more 
from another than the same man 
varies from himself in different 
periods of his age, and in different 
situations. In youth and in opu- 
lence everything almost appears 
agreeable; under sickness or sor- 
row almost everything is indiffer- 
ent if not disgustful ; nay, even at 
the same age and in the same sit- 
uation some are continually chang- 
ing their opinions and pursuits 
and acquaintances. Thus we see 
that the world is made up of noth- 
ing but unceasing rounds of fluc- 
tuation ; it affords us nothing on 
which we can set up our rest, no 



MAX— MAliRIAGE. 



187 



enjoyment or possession that we 
can properly call our own. "When 
Ave have begun to be placed in 
such circumstances as we desired, 
and wish our lives to proceed in 
the same agreeable tenor, how 
often some unexpected event hap- 
pens to disconcert all our schemes 
of happiness ! either poverty comes, 
our friends die, our health declines, 
or something occurs to embitter 
our earthly enjoyments. — De. 
Blaie. 

So FAE as a man hath power to 
think or not to think, to move or 
not to move, according to the 
preference or direction of his own 
mind, so far is a man free. This 
liberty does not, strictly speaking, 
belong to the will only, but to 
the agent, and therefore free-will 
is, properly speaking, free agency, 
so that the idea of liberty is the 
idea of power in any agent to do 
or forbear any action, etc. — Locke. 

Max, though greatly fallen, yet 
has feculties whereby, through di- 
vine assistance, he may discern 
truth and hold it fast. When he 
is enabled to do this, he answers 
the end of his creation ; Avhen he 
is not, he suffers himself to be 
bent different ways, to float on 
uncertainties, and become fickle. 
The Scripture allows not to the 
irresolute the name of men, but 
they are called children tossed to 
and fro with every wind of doc- 
trine. The fickle man is not fit for 
religion, for business, for friend- 



ship : not for the first, for what 
denomination can comfortably re- 
ceive him who often changes ? not 
for the second, for what trades- 
man can form a connection with 
one upon whom there is no reli- 
ance? not for the third, for what 
person can place confidence in one 
who has often changed his friends, 
and may soon become a bitter en- 
emy. — Bisnop Atteebuet. 



ilaithhtb- — (See Man.) 



It is a happy match when the 
husband and the wife are one, not 
only in themselves, but in God ; 
not more in flesh than in the 
Spirit. — Hall. 

Two PEESoxs who have chosen 
each other out of all the species, 
with the design to be each other's 
mutual comfort and entertainment, 
have in that action bound them- 
selves to be good-humored, affable, 
discreet, forgiving, patient, and 
joyful in respect to each other's 
frailties and imperfections to the 
end of their lives. — Addisox. 

I^Iatches too commonly spring 
from sudden fancy, mere animal 
affection, or desire for money, 
rather than from deliberate choice 
of a suitable companion. In noth- 
ing do mankind more frequently 
play the fool. If they would be 



188 



MARRIAGE. 



guided by mutual affection, mature 
acquaintance, and sober reason 
and conscience, matrimonial con- 
nections would make marriages, 
and marriages would create strong 
and permanent natural affection 
and domestic happiness, wliich are 
not merchantable commodities, 
nor to be weighed in the balances 
with silver and gold. — Simmons. 

A GEEAT proportion of the 
wretchedness which has so often 
imbittered married life, I am per- 
suaded, has originated in a negli- 
gence of trifles. Connubial hapi)i- 
ness is a thing of too fine a texture 
to be handled roughly. It is a 
sensitive jjlant, which will not 
bear even the touch of unkindness ; 
a delicate flower, which indiffer- 
ence will chill, and suspicion 
blast. It must be watered by 
the showers of tender affection, 
expanded by the cheering glow of 
kindness, and guarded by the im- 
pregnable barrier of unshaken 
confidence. Thus matured, it will 
bloom with fragrance in every 
season of life, and sweeten even 
the loneliness of declining years. 

A GOOD husband will not deny 
his wife anything suitable within 
his circumstances. It adds to his 
pleasures to see her happy, and. he 
does all he can to promote it. The 
good wife also is not only a pru- 
dent manager of the domestic af- 
fairs of her husband, but by her 
advice and conduct she increases 
his joys in prosperity, and lessens 



his cares and sorrows in adversity. 
She is likewise the careful pre- 
server of his health, and his kind 
and sympathetic attendant in 
sickness. Thus v.-e see the su- 
perior advantages and pleasures 
of matrimony when tAvo suitable 
persons are united as partners for 
life. — Steetch. 

Remember that if thou marry 
for beauty thou bindest thyself all 
thy life for that which perchance 
will neither last nor please thee 
one year! and when thou hast 
it, it will be to thee of no price at 
all ; for the desire dieth when it is 
attained, and the affection perish- 
eth when it is satisfied. — Sie W. 
Raleigh. 



WiiEX we see the avaricious and 
crafty taking companions to their 
tables and their beds without any 
inquiry but after farms and money ; 
or the giddy and thoughtless unit- 
ing themselves for life to those 
whom they have only seen by the 
light of tapers; when parents 
make articles for children without 
inquiring after their consent ; when 
some marry for heirs to disappoint 
their brothers, and others throw 
themselves into the arms of those 
whom they do not love, because 
they have found themselves re- 
jected where they were more so- 
licitous to please; when some 
marry because their servants cheat 
them ; some because they squan- 
der their own money ; some be- 



MARRIAGE — MARTYRDOM— MEDITxVTIOX. 



189 



cause their houses are pestered 
with company; some because they 
will live like other people ; and 
some because they are sick of 
themselves, we are not so much 
inclined to wonder that marrifige 
is sometimes unhapi)y, as that it 
appears so little loaded with calam- 
ity, and cannot but conclude that 
society hath something in itself 
eminently agreeable to human na- 
ture, when we find its pleasures 
so great that even the ill choice 
of a companion can hardly over- 
balance them. Those therefore 
of the above description that 
should rail against matrimony 
should be informed that they are 
neither to wonder nor repine that 
a contract begun on such princi- 
ples has ended in disappointment. 

— JOII^'SOX, 

Maepjage is the strictest tie of 
perpetual friendship, and there 
can be no friendship without con- 
fidence, and no confidence without 
integrity; and he must expect to 
be wretched who pays to beauty, 
riches, or politeness that regard 
which only virtue and piety can 
claim. — JoHxsoN. 



To SEE how the martyrs of God 
died, and the life of their persecu- 
tors, would make a man out of 
love with life, and out of all fear 
of death. They were flesh and 
blood as well as we; life was as 



sweet to them as to us ; their bod- 
ies were as sensible of pain as 
ours; we go to the same heaven 
with them. How comes it then 
that they were so courageous in 
abiding such torments in then- 
death, as their very mention 
strikes horror into any reader, 
and we are so cowardly in encoun- 
tering a ftiir and natural death? 
If this valor had been of them- 
selves I would never have looked 
after them in hope of imitation. 
Now I know it was He for whom 
they suflfered, and that suffered 
in them, which sustained them. 
They were of themselves as weak 
as I ; and God can be as strong 
in me as he was in them. O 
Lord, thou art not more nnable to 
give me this grace, but I am more 
unworthy to receive it: and yet 
thou regard est not worthiness, 
but mercy. Gi ve me their strength 
and what end thou wilt. — Hall. 

How EARLY did martyrdom 
come into the world ! The first 
man that died, died for religion. — 
Hall. 



g(atrim0ltg. — (See Mar- 
riage.) 



Meditation is the life of the 
soul, action is the soul of medita- 
tion, honor is the reward of action. 



190 



MEDITATION — MEEKNESS — MEMOE Y. 



So meditate, that thou mayest do ; 
so do, that thou mayest purchase 
honor; for which purchase give 
God the glory. — Quaeles. 

Meditation 
May think down hours to mo- 
ments. The heart 
May give most useful lessons to 

the head, 
And learning w^iser grow without 
his books. Cowper. 

It is easier to go six miles to 
hear a sermon tlian to spend one 
quarter of an hour in meditating 
on it when I come home. — Philip 
IIexey. 

Meditation is the fountain of 
discourse. — Ciieysippus. 

Some of the great advantages of 
meditation are the following : first, 
it transfers and conveys the senti- 
ments of others to ourselves, so as 
to make them properly our own. 
Secondly, it enables us to distin- 
guisli truth from error, and to re- 
ject what is wrong after we have 
seen, read, or heard anything. 
Thirdly, by this we fix in our 
memory only wliat we best ap- 
prove of, without loading it with all 
that we read. Lastly, by properly 
meditating on what comes within 
the view of our minds, we may 
improve upon the sentiments or 
inventions of others, and thereby 
acquire great reputation, and per- 
haps emolument, fro'm their labors. 
— De. Watts. 



OuE meditations on Providence 
should not swim like feathers on 
the water, but sink like lead to 
the bottom, and we should act 
like Elijah's servant (1 Kings 
xviii, 44) when he looked for 
rain, that is, think and think 
again, as he went seven times. — 
Flavel. 



It is one of the rules of meek- 
ness " to despise being despised." 

The comforts of an angry man 
lie at the mercy of every man 
that will provoke him, and he has 
very few days of comfort, but a 
meek man enjoys almost a perpet- 
ual Sabbath. The anger of a meek 
man is like fire struck out of steel, 
hard to be got out, and when got 
out, soon gone. Meekness not 
only gives great peace of mind, 
but often adds a luster to the 
countenance. We only read of 
three in Scripture whose faces 
shone remarkabl}^, namely, Christ, 
Moses, and Stephen, and they 
were eminent for meekness. — 
IIeney. 



He who has not a good memory 
should never take upon him the 
trade of lying. — Montaigne. „• 

Memoey depends very much on 
the perspicuity, regularity, and 
order of our thoughts. Many 



MEMORY — MERCY. 



191 



complain of the want of memory, 
when the defect is in their judg- 
ment; and others, by grasphig at 
all, retain nothing. — Fuller. 

OvEEBUEDEX not thy memory 
to make so faithful a servant a 
slave. Remember Atlas was 
weary. Have as much reason as 
a camel, to rise when thou hast 
thy full load. Memory, like a 
purse, if it be over full that it can- 
not shut, all will drop out of it. 
Take heed of a gluttonous curios- 
ity to feed on many things, lest 
the greediness of the appetite of 
thy memory spoil the digestion 
thereof. Spoil not thy memory 
with thine own jealousy, nor make 
it bad by suspecting it. How 
canst thou find that true which 
thou wilt not trust ? Marshal thy 
notions into a handsome method. 
One will carry twice more weight 
trussed and packed up in bundles, 
than when it lies untowardly flap- 
ping about his shoulders. — Fullee. 

It is a terrible thought that 
nothing is ever forgotten, that not 
an oath is ever uttered that does 
not continue to vibrate through 
all time, in the wide-spreading 
current of sound; that not a 
prayer is lisped that its record is 
not to be found stamped on the 
laws of nature by the indelible 
seal of the Almighty's will. — 

COOPEE. 

Maxxixd often complain of 
memories; yet how seldom do 

13 



they forget even the slightest cir- 
cumstance of a real or supposed 
injury. 



Whex thou seest misery in thy 
brother's face, let him see mercy 
in thine eye. The more the oil of 
mercy is poured on him by thy 
pity, the more the oU in thy cruse 
shall be increased by thy piety. — 
Quaeles. 

The death of malefactors, the 
punishment of wicked men, seem 
harsh to us ; but we must learn of 
God that there is a punishing 
mercy. — Hall. 

Who from crimes would pardoned 

be. 
In mercy should set others free. 
Shakspeaee. 

It is the property of true mercy 
to be most favorable to the weak- 
est. — Hall. 

Meecy stays not for outward 
solemnities. — Bishop Hall. 

The scepter of mercy is held 
out to the very vilest of the vile ; 
and no persons can be brought to 
Christ that they may live in sin, 
as by the Holy Spirit they are 
only brought to Christ that they 
may be saved from it. O no ; all 
true believers will assuredly feel 
their hearts purified by faith. 



192 



MERCY — MERIT — MESSIAH. 



They purify their hearts in obey- 
ing the truth through the Spirit. 
Sin becomes their torment, their 
very hell, and it is now the only 
hell they need to fear. O no ; it 
is utterly impossible to suppose 
that they who are under the 
power of the grace of Christ 
should have a wish to live other- 
wise than to his glory. — R. Hill. 

The quality of mercy is not 

strained : 
It droppeth, as the gentle dew 

from heaven 
Upon the place beneath : it is 

twice blessed; 
It blesseth him that gives, and 

him that takes : - 
It is an attribute to God himself; 
And earthly power doth then 

show likest God's, 
When mercy seasons justice. 

Therefore, 
Though justice be thy plea, con- 
sider this, 
That in the course of justice none 

of us 
Should see salvation : we do pray 

for mercy ; 
And that same prayer doth teach 

us all to render 
The deeds of mercy. 

Shakspeaee. 

Let us take heed, for mercy is 
like a rainbow which God set in 
the clouds to remember mankind. 
We must never look for it at 
night, and it shines not in the 
other world. If we refuse mercy 



here, we shaU have justice to 
eternity. — Tayloe. 

The greatest joy in hell was at 
the fall of man ; but it was only as 
a flash of lightning, for it was 
soon known that there was mercy 
in store for believers. — De. Watts. 



llmt. 

Meeit and innocence are no sup- 
port 

When we are tried in scandal's 
court ; 

However, not ten thousand lies 

Make us less virtuous, learned, or 
wise. 



The Messiah is called the Sav- 
iour, not on account of a temporal 
salvation, as Joshua had been 
among the Jews, and Marcellus 
among the Greeks, but on account 
of a heavenly and eternal salva- 
tion. This salvation not only re- 
gards the body, but the soul; it 
respects this life and that which 
is to come. This name distin- 
guishes the mission of Christ from 
that of Moses, and his gospel from 
the law of Moses. Moses indeed 
promises life — "do this and thou 
shalt live " — but he does not prom- 
ise salvation. The law, with all 
its sacrifices, could never deliver 
men from the servitude of sin and 
death ; but Jesus hath really and 



MIND, THE — MI]SnSTERS. 



193 



truly saved us, Lath drawn us from 
the abyss of hell, and from the 
curse under which we were, to 
bestow on us his glory and immor- 
tality. — Claude. 

(See also Cheist.) 



The guilty mind 
Debases the great image that it 

wears, 
And levels us with brutes. 

Havaed. 

The pleasure of a well-regulated 
mind moves gently, and therefore 
constantly. It does not affect by 
rapture and ecstacy, but is like 
the pleasure of health, still and 
sober, yet greater and stronger 
than those which call up the 
senses with grosser impressions. 

The mind is heaven-born, and 
comes immediately out of the 
hands of God, so that, to speak 
properly, we are nearer related 
to the Supreme Being than to 
father or mother. — Colliee. 

Theee is nothing so elastic as 
the human mind. Like imprisoned 
steam, the more it is pressed the 
more it rises to resist the pressure. 
The more we are obliged to do 
the more we are able to accom- 
plish. — T. Edwaeds. 

Theee is no being eloquent for 
atheism. In that exhausted re- 
ceiver the mind cannot use its 



wings, the clearest proof that it is 
out of its element. — Haee. 

A MiXD in doubt 
Is as the tide swelled to its utmost 

height. 
That makes a still-stand, running 

neither way; Shakspeaee. 

A TEXDEE mind will teach the 

heart to glow 
For others' good, and melt at 

others' woe. Pope. 

The mind of guilt is full of scor- 
pions. Shakspeaee. 

The mind is its own place, and in 

itself 
Can make a heaven of hell, a heU 

of heav^. Miltox. 



In the choice that you make of 
the ministers of the Church, do not 
take those who aspire after ecclesi- 
astical dignities, and push to come 
at them; but those who do not 
take one step that way, those that 
refuse them when offered, compel 
such sort of men, and force them 
to come in. Let them be men 
who fear nothing but God, who 
hope nothing but from God, 
who regard not the presents but 
the wants of those who approach 
them. Let them generously take 
the part of the afflicted, and do 
justice to the poor ; let their 



194 



MINISTERS. 



manners be pure and regular ; let 
them be of a kuown sanctity; 
a patience and temper proof against 
every trial ; of an inviolable at- 
tachment to discipline and good 
order ; a zeal ardent and severe 
in censuring everything that de- 
serves censure; of a sound doc- 
trine, 'an orthodox faith, of a sin- 
cere love of peace, concord, and 
unity. — St. Beenaed. 

If you wish to gain a character 
as a minister of the "Word of life 
you must first lose it entirely in 
the esteem of the world, and then 
gain it by your upright and holy 
zeal, by your complete deadness 
to the world, that you may give 
yourself wholly to the work of the 
ministry, and spend ^nd be spent 
in the sacred cause. Half-way 
work is odious in every profession, 
but in the work of God most 
abominable. Such as honor Christ 
shall be honored by him. — R. 
Hill. 

God is the fountain of honor, and 
the conduits by which he conveys it 
to the sons of men are virtuous and 
generous practices. Some indeed 
may please and promise themselves 
high matters from full revenues, 
stately palaces, court interests, and 
great dependencies. But that 
which makes the clergy glorious, 
is to be knowing in their profes- 
sion, unspotted in their lives, act- 
ive and laborious in their charges, 
bold and resolute in opposing 
seducers, and daring to look vice 



in the face, though never so 
potent and illustrious. And lastly, 
to be gentle, courteous, and com- 
passionate to all. These are our 
robes and our maces, our escutch- 
eons and highest titles of honor. — 
South. 

It is probable that many who 
are called Gospel ministers are 
more chargeable with concealing 
truth, than affirming direct errors ; 
with neglecting some part of their 
duty, than actually committing 
crimes; with not properly build- 
ing the house, than willfully put- 
ting it down. — De. Witheespoon. 

An upright minister asks icTiat 
recommends a man ; a^ corrupt 
minister icho. — Coltox. 

A teiie and faithful minister of 
the Gospel is a person of the great- 
est importance imaginable, because 
the things that pertain to salva- 
tion, and the means of everlasting 
life are lodged in his hands, so 
that he is the steward of the mys- 
teries of Christ, and, under the 
Holy Spirit, the guardian of the 
souls committed to his charge. 
Now to set forth his endowments : 
first, he has a tolerable stock of 
knowledge, not indeed enough to 
explain all mysteries, or to answer 
all perplexing questions, yet suffi- 
cient to make himself and his 
hearers wise to salvation. Sec- 
ondly, he has not only some 
understanding, but some experi- 
ence also in the way of godliness ; 



:MIXISTERS — MISERY. 



195 



he is a regenerated man, and is 
growing in grace, and under the 
sanctifying influences of the Holj 
Spirit. Thirdly, as to his preach- 
ing, it will be plain and powerful, 
and so faithful that he will declare 
all that he knows of the will of 
God, and if the truth be never so 
disagreeable, contrary to the opin- 
ions or the practice of some of his 
hearers, they will be sure to hear 
it, for nothing will prevail upon 
him to disguise or conceal it. 
Fourthly, as to his conduct, he 
will not confine his teaching to 
God's day or house, but will exer- 
cise his care of his people every 
day and will go to their houses at 
proper times, whether they invite 
him or no ; he wdll inquire into the 
state of the souls of his people, 
and watch to see whether they 
keep the Sabbath, catechize their 
children, instruct the servants, 
have family worship, and attend 
to daily reading the Bible and 
closet devotion. He will not be 
afraid of the rich, and by no means 
neglect the poor; he will attend 
to those who are strong in faith, 
but more particularly to those 
who are weak, or under afflictions 
or temptations. He will watch if 
any of his people begin to back- 
slide, and will use his utmost 
endeavors to be instrumental to 
restore those who have wandered. 
As to his example, although perhaps 
he has many infirmities and some 
peculiarities, yet his life is habit- 
ually holy ; and with respect to 
his temper, if it be naturally good. 



grace will make it still more pleas- 
ant, and if it be bad, the power of 
godliness will restrain and sweeten 
it. The true Gospel minister will 
also be very attentive to young 
persons, and the unconverted in 
genera] ; for this purpose, though 
he is faithful to warn them in 
preaching, and is grave and sol- 
emn in conversing with them, yet 
he never dresses religion in mourn- 
ing, but, on the contrary, recom- 
mends it as the most cheerful, 
pleasant, and comfortable enjoy- 
ment that we can possibly have. 
In short, a true minister of the 
Gospel wiU be a constant inspector 
of your actions, a faithful monitor 
of your duty, and an impartial 
reprover of your offenses ; he will 
guide you by his advice, animate 
you by his example, and bless you 
by his prayers. — Hervey. 

That is the best minister who 
lives best and does the most good. 
— R. Hill. 



ilmfetrg^ — (See Mmis- 

TERS.) 



All useless misery is certainly 
folly, and he that feels evils be- 
fore they come may be deservedly 
censured. Yet surely to dread the 
future is more reasonable than to 
lament the past. The business of 



196 



MISERY — MISFORTUNE — MODESTY. 



life is to go forward : he who sees 
evil in prospect meets it in his 
way ; but he who catches it in ret- 
rospection turns back to find it. — 
Johnson. 

Leaen, then, that misery is the 

effect of sin ; 
In men's own bosoms all their 

woes begin. Scott. 

Nothing- is misery unless our 
weakness apprehend it so. We 
cannot be more faithful to our- 
selves in anything that's manly 
than to make ill-fortune as con- 
temptible to us as it makes 
ns to others. — Beaumont and 
Fletchee. 



No one ought to remind another 
of misfortunes of which the suffer- 
er does not complain, and which 
there are no means proposed of 
alleviating. We have no right to 
excite thoughts which necessarily 
give pain. — Johnson. 

Theee is no misfortune greater 
than not to be able to endure mis- 
fortune. 

Miseoetunes are moral bit- 
ters, which frequently restore the 
healthy tone of tlie mind when it 
has been cloyed and sickened by 

the sweets of prosperity. 

To THINK well of every other 
man's condition, and to dislike our 



own, is one of the misfortunes of 
human nature. "Pleased with 
each other's lot, our own we 
hate." — BuETON. 



Modesty is the honor of the 
body, the ornament of the man- 
ners, the holiness of sexes, the 
peace of families, the source of 
unity and concord. She doth not 
trouble herself to please any but 
herself, she is adorned only with 
modesty, she is very sure that she 
is beautiful if she displeases the 
wicked; in fine, she seeks after 
no foreign ornaments; she is to 
herself her own ornament, and all 
her glory. — St. Ctpeian. 

Modesty is to merit as shades 
to figures in a picture, giving it 
strength and beauty. — Beuyeee. 

Plutaech has this similitude re- 
specting modesty : " That as this- 
tles, though not agreeable things 
in themselves, yet are sometimes 
signs of a good ground wherein 
they grow, so bashfulness, though 
rather a weakness, is yet an argu- 
ment of a soul virtuously inclined. 
Modesty is one of the chief moral 
virtues, in itself an excellent stock 
to graft all others on. Other 
qualifications have their abate- 
ments according to their use de- 
signed, and the opinion the Avorld 
has of their owners ; but modesty 
is a virtue which seldom feels the 



MODESTY— m')XEY. 



197 



weight of censure, for it silences 
envy by meriting esteem, and is 
beloved wheresoever it is found. 
It is the best glass to dress by, the 
best director of our discourse, and 
a sure guide to all our actions. It 
gives the most pleasing air to our 
looks, gestures, and conversation, 
and has obtained such an esteem 
among the judicious, that it will 
cover or excuse many defects, be- 
cause it is unassuming, and guard- 
ed by an aversion to what is 
criminal, and a dislike of what is 
absurd, foolish, or ridiculous. It 
is the great ornament of both sex- 
es, especially of women, for those 
who have forfeited their modesty 
are reckoned among the worth- 
less ; but those who have modesty, 
though they may be neither rich 
nor learned, handsome nor witty, 
yet are well respected in all com- 
panies." 

I^OTHixa is more amiable than 
true modesty, and nothing more 
contemptible than that which is 
false ; the one guards virtue, the 
other betrays it. 

Modesty has more charms than 
beauty. If you have intelligence, 
modesty best sets it off; if not, it 
best hides your want of it. 

A JUST and reasonable modesty 
does not only recommend elo- 
quence, but sets off every great 
talent which a man can be pos- 
sessed of. It heightens all the 



virtues which it accompanies ; 
like the shades in paintings, it 
raises and rounds every figure, 
and makes the colors more beau- 
tiful, though not so glaring as they 
would be without it. — Addisox. 

Make no display of your talents 
or attainments ; for every one will 
clearly see, admire, and acknowl- 
edge them so long as you cover 
them with the beautiful vail of 
modesty. — De. Emmoxs. 

He alone shall stem oblivion 
who can both forget himself and 
make others forget him. — Lava- 
tee. 



Theee Is no use of money equal 
to that of beneficence. Here the 
enjoyment grows on reflection, 
and our money is most truly ours 
when it ceases to be in our pos- 
session. 

Moxet is the servant of some, 
the master of others, and the god 
of still more. 

Whex money makes a man, the 
loss of it unmans him. — Sim- 



MoxEY and time are the heavi- 
est burdens of life; and the un- 
happiest of all mortals are those 
who have more of either than they 
know how to use.— Joiixsox. 



198 



MOXEY—MORx\LITY— MOTIVES— MUSIC. 



Wealth is a dangerous inher- 
itance, except the inheritor is 
trained to active benevolence. — 
Simmons. 

(See AvAPjcE, Coyetousxess.) 



MoEALiTY, or reformation, only 
strikes at the branches of sin ; but 
the Gospel and true grace at the 
root. 



That Christ does not hold men 
to proper and unselfish motives 
when they come to him for heal- 
ing, we may see by the cleansing 
of the nine selfish and ungrateful 
lepers. He knew their disposi- 
tions and motives as well before 
as after he had granted their pray- 
er. God allows men to cry. out 
to him from selfish fear, and he 
never refuses to attend to any 
earnest cry. If he did not attend 
to such cries, or receive such per- 
sons, whom would he receive? 
Dare any man lift up his face and 
say, "When I cried unto God I 
cried worthily, from pure and dis- 
interested motives?" The condi- 
tions are not, "Come with pure 
hearts and motives unto me ;" they 
are, " Come, and your motives shall 
afterward be made right." A true 
conversion will do that work. 
Nothing else will. If you are 
awake to your danger, if yon see 



at last that your only hope is in 
Jesus, don't stop to examine your 
motives, or his willingness to re- 
ceive you just as you are. Rush 
to his feet this moment. All that 
you cannot do, he can and will do. 
All that you now have to do is 
heartily to come. Drop every 
hope and every dependence but 
Christ, and give your whole life 
and soul into his keeping. — H. W. 
Beechee. 



All music should have a sacred 
end and design ; then it can never 
be too good, nor can they be too 
good who join in the solemn serv- 
ice. — R. Hill. 

MiJSiG resembles poetry ; in each 
Are numerous graces which no 

methods teach. 
And which a master hand alone 

can reach. Pope. 

Music is the mediator between 
the spiritual and the sensual life. 
Although the spirit be not master 
of that which it creates through 
music, yet it is blessed in this cre- 
ation, which, like every creation 
of art, is mightier than the artist. 
— Beethovex. 

Sacked music can never pro- 
duce its best efifect unless it be 
performed Avith true sincerity. 
There ought to be a perfect con- 
cord between the music, the words, 



^[ YSTER Y — XATIT.E. 



ino 



and the heart. It is a just observ- 
ation, that no man can speak 
well unless he feels what he saj^s ; 
and it is equally true that no man 
can sing well unless he feels what 
he sings. The highest graces of 
music How from the feelings of the 
heart. Those who sing the praises 
of God mnst possess truly sublime, 
solemn, tender feelings, in order to 
fill the minds of a religious assem- 
bly with similar emotions and af- 
fections. — Dr. E:yoiox3. 



Mtsteey magnifies danger, as a 
fog the snn. — Coltox. 

Objectioxs to mysteries are 
chiefly urged in opposition to re- 
ligion. 

A EELiGiox without mystery 
must be one without God. 

A 3JTSTEPvT, as applied to relig- 
ion, means something that is true 
and sacred, though in some degree 
secret. This in the strictest sense 
is applicable to almost all things 
in revelation, and indeed even the 
nature and perfections of God; 
but this word is commonly ap- 
plied to the trinity, the incarna- 
tion of Christ, the reconciliation 
of an offended God through the 
atonement of the Saviour, and the 
resurrection and reunion of the 
same body and soul together. 
These are great and precious 



truths, but they are undoubtedly 
very mysterious ; however, as they 
are clearly revealed, it is as much 
our duty to believe them as to 
love God and obey him. — Baxtee. 



latere. 



Ix admiring the beauties of na- 
ture, we should consider to whom 
we stand indebted for all the en- 
tertainments of sense ; and who it 
is that thus opens his hand and 
fills the world with good. Such 
an habitual disposition of mind 
consecrates every field and wood ; 
turns an ordinary walk into a 
morning or evening sacrifice. 

ISTATrEE teaches wliat infency 
can do, and what it deserves. 
AYhat man is so barbarous as to 
resist the simple and lovely ways 
of a little child? It softens the 
fiercest nature, it inspires the hard- 
est hearts with tenderness. Fa- 
thers and mothers know what it 
is, all the world tries it ; the yearn- 
ings that are caused only at the 
sight of it, prove it. He then tliat 
desired to be loved, and not to be 
feared, was pleased to be born with 
all the charms of infancy. — St. 
Chrysologue. 

Mock not at those who are mis- 
shapen by nature. A poor man 
is a picture of God's own making, 
but set in a plain frame, not gild- 
ed; a deformed man is also his 
workmansliip, but not drawn with 



200 



NATUPwE. 



even lines and lively colors. Their 
souls have been the chapels of 
sanctity, whose bodies have been 
the hospitals of deformity. — Ful- 

LEK. 

Nature is but a name for an ef- 
fect, 
"Whose cause is God. Cowpee. 

Who can paint 
Like nature? Can imagination 

boast, 
Amid his gay creation, lines like 

these ? 
And can he mix them with that 

matchless skill. 
And lay them on so delicately fine ? 

TUOMSOX. 

There are two great obstacles 
to the taming of a lion : one, be- 
cause he wants reason ; and 
anotlier, because he greatly ex- 
ceeds all savage beasts in fierce- 
ness. Yet by that industry which 
God hath given you you force 
nature itself. How then do you, 
who make yourselves masters of 
nature in beasts, betray nature and 
reason in yourselves ? What ex- 
cuse, I say again, can you have? 
You that have skill enough to make 
a lion almost become a man, and 
yet, for want of care, make a man 
a lion ? For, in fine, you give to 
the beast what nature denies him, 
and do not keep yourself what is 
most natural to you. — St. Chrys- 

OSTOM. 

God has given to nature a 
power of supplying her own de- 



fects, and has made up for tlie 
want of some members or perfec- 
tions of the body by bestowing on 
others a superior degree of activity, 
force, or capacity. Thus we often 
find blindness compensated by an 
additional delicacy in the senses of 
hearing and feeling ; deafness sup- 
plied by good sight, and the loss 
or deformity of some limbs made 
up by the strength and agility of 
others ; so that we often see with 
admiration that even the imper- 
fect or maimed productions of 
nature have no cause to complain 
of her. — Waxley. 

All things are artificial, for 
nature is the art of God. — Sir T. 
Browne. 

ISTatuee is the glass reflecting 

God, 
As by the sea reflected is the sun. 
Too glorious to be gazed on in his 

sphere. — Young. 

There is nothing in nature so 
bold as innocence, nor so timid as 

guilt. 

Nature hath nothing made so 
base, but can 

Read some instruction to the wis- 
est man. Aleyx. 

Natuee bids me love myself, 
and hate all that hurt me ; reason 
bids me love my friends, and hate 
those that envy me ; religion bids 
me love all and hate none. Nature 
showeth care, reason wit, religion 



Is^ATURE — NEGLECT — XIGIIT. 



201 



love. Xature may induce me, 
reason persuade me, but religion 
shall rule me. I will hearken to 
nature in much, to reason in more, 
to religion in all. — Waewiok. 

All nature shows the glory of the 
Lord, 

Yet something shines more glori- 
ous in his word ; 

Of what we read, the sacred writ 
is best. 

Where all great things are in few 
words exprest. — Wallee. 

Natuee affords to all her chil- 
dren, with maternal goodness, the 
most simple and innocent, the least 
expensive and m.ost universal of 
all pleasures. It is that which 
our first parents enjoyed in Para- 
dise, and it is only the fallen state 
of man wiiich makes him seek 
other pleasures. Men are apt to 
slight the daily blessings they en- 
joy, however excellent, and they 
only think of multiplying and 
varying their artificial amusements. 
It is certain, however, that inno- 
cent natural pleasures are prefer- 
able to all others, for it is almost 
impossible not to find charms in 
them, unless our taste is vitiated 
by intemperance. In comparison 
of this pleasure, so noble and sens- 
ible, how trifling and vain are 
those far-fetclied amusements 
which the rich obtain with so 
much trouble and expense, which 
are so short, and frequently end in 
disgust. Nature and reason, being 
rich and beneficent, present us con- 



tinually with new objects, and the 
pleasures we enjoy in contemplat- 
ing the works of nature are solid 
and lasting. The starry sky, the 
earth enameled with flowers, and 
the various landscapes and pros- 
pects in it, together with the vari- 
egated beauties displayed in the 
colors, shape, and make of all 
manner of beasts, fishes, serpents, 
and shells, and especially of birds 
and their singing, can all the works 
of art in any respect equal those 
simple products of nature? The 
duty of a Christian consists in en- 
joying innocently aU that sur- 
rounds him, and he alone knows 
how to draw resources fi-om every 
thing, and, though poor, may be 
happy at all times. — Stuem. 



"^t^htt 



A little neglect may breed 
great mischief. For want of a nail 
the shoe was lost ; for want of a 
shoe the horse was lost ; and for 
want of a horse the rider was lost, 
being overtaken and slain by an 
enemy, all for want of care about 
a horseshoe nail. — Feanklin. 



l¥jt» 



Night, sable goddess ! from her 
ebon throne. 

In rayless majesty now stretches 
forth 

Iler leaden scepter o'er a slumber- 
ing world. 



202 



NIGHT — NOBILITY — NOVELS. 



Silence, how dead ! and darkness, 
how profound ! 

Nor eye, nor listening ear, an ob- 
ject finds ; 

Creation sleeps, 'tis as the general 
pulse 

Of life stood still, and nature made 
a pause; 

An awful pause ! prophetic of her 
end. — YouxG, 

Sable night, mother of dread and 

fear, 
Upon the world dim darkness doth 

display. 
And in her vanity prison stows 

the day.— Shaxspeaee. 

Night is the good man's friend 
and guardian too. 

It no less rescues virtue than in- 
spires. — Young. 



How VAIN it is in you to boast 
of your nobility. You are used to 
observe the breed of dogs as well 
as that of grandees ; you boast as 
much of the race of horses as of 
consuls: but this signifies nothing 
in a horse-race ; 'tis not nobleness 
of blood, but speed that wins the 
phite. Take care that your ances- 
tors' virtues do not lose their lus- 
ter in you, and that they be not 
ashamed to see you bear their 
name. The merit of an heir doth 
not consist in gilt ceilings, adorned 
with laurels, nor in porphyry ves- 
sels; this doth not make men 



illustrious, this only makes metals 
more considerable and more pre- 
cious : those metals that are 
taken out of mines to which men 
are condemned for their punish- 
ment. — St. Ambeose. 



"^.oMb. 



Above all things, never let your 
son touch a novel or romance. 
How delusive, how destructive are 
those pictures of consummate bliss ! 
They teach the youthful to sigh 
after beauty and happiness that 
never existed ; to despise the little 
good that fortune has mixed in our 
cup, by expecting more than she 
ever gave; and in general, take 
the word of a man who has seen 
the world, and studied it more by 
experience than by precept ; take 
my word for it, I say that such 
books teach us very little of the 

world. G OLDSMITH. 

Novels are mean imitations of 
literature, and usually the poorest 
part of it. They devour much 
precious time, and what is worse, 
have a bad efiect upon mind and 
morals. Their fanciful, distorted, 
and exaggerated sketches of life 
tend to vitiate and corrupt the 
taste. — Yaele. 

No HABITUAL reader of novels 
can love the Bible or any other 
book tliat demands thought, or in- 
culcates the serious duties of life. 
He dwells in a region of imagina- 



XOVELS— OBEDIENCE— OBLIGATION— OBSTIXACY. 203 



tion, where he is disgusted with 
the plainness and simplicity of 
truth, with the sober realities that 
demand his attention as a rational 
and immortal being, and an ac- 
countable subject of God's gov- 
ernment. 

ISToYEL reading tends to destroy 
a relish for history, philosophy, 
and other useful knowledge. Nov- 
els give false notions of life, which 
are dangerous and injurious. — 
Beattie. 

Novels vitiate the taste, as 
strong drink vitiates the stomach 
and injures the constitution. 



The obedience toward God is 
the obedience of faith and good 
works; that is, he who believes 
in God, and does what God has 
commanded, is obedient unto him. 
But the obedience toward the 
devil is superstition and evil 
works ; that is, who trusts not in 
God, but is unbelieving, and does 
evil, is obedient unto the devil. — 
Luther. 

Obedience is as well tried in 
a trifle as in the most important 
?e. — Hall. 



Let the ground of all thy re- 
ligious actions be obedience. Ex- 
amine not why it is commanded, 
but observe it because it is com- 



manded. True obedience neither 
procrastinates nor questions. — 

QUAELES. 

To obey is better than prayer. 
— Asiatic Peoverb. 

If you would secure obedience, 
show affection. It is a power that 
succeeds when others fail. 



©hlxQKixan. 

The obligation of a secret vow 
is no less than if it had ten thou- 
sand witnesses. — Hall. 



4«»- 



©b^tmatg. 



An obstinate man does not hold 
opinions, but they hold him; for 
when he is once possessed of an 
error, it is like a devil, only cast 
out with great diflBculty. "What- 
soever he lays hold on, like a 
drowning man, he never looses, 
though it but help to sink him the 
sooner. — Butler. 

Narrowness of mind is the 
cause of obstinacy. We do not 
easily believe what is beyond our 
sight. — La Eoohefoucauld. 



®ani^ntxon. 

I have lived to know that the 
great secret of human happiness is 
this : never suifer your energies to 



204 OOCUPATIOX— OLD AGE — OMNIPRESENCE. 



stagnate. The old adage of " too 
many irons in the fire," conveys 
an untruth. You cannot have too 
many: poker, tongs, and all; keep 
them all going. — Adam Olaeke. 

Eyeey base occupation makes 
one sharp in its practice, and dull 
in every other. — Sie P. Sidxet. 



Old age will come, disease may 
come before ; 

Fifteen is full as mortal as three- 
score. 

Old age has deformities enough 
of its own: do not add to it the 
deformity of vice. — Oato. 

NoTHixa is more despicable or 
more miserable than the old age 
of a passionate man. When the 
vigor of youth fails him, and his 
amusements pall with frequent rep- 
etition, his occasional rage sinks 
by decay of strength into peevish- 
ness; that peevishness, for want 
of novelty and variety, becomes 
habitual ; the world falls off from 
around him; and he is left, as 
Homer expresses it, "to devour 
his own heart in solitude and con- 
tempt." JOHXSON. 

An old man who has lived in 
the exercise of virtue, looking 
back without a blush on his past 
days, and pointing to that better 
state where alone he can be per- 



fectly rewarded, is a figure the 
most venerable that can well be 
imagined. — Mackexzie. 

A COMFOETABLE old age is the 
reward of a well-spent youth ; 
therefore, instead of its introduc- 
ing dismal and melancholy pros- 
pects of decay, it should give us 
hopes of eternal youth in a better 
world. — Palmee. 

(See Age.) 



We should continually think of 
God's omnipresence ; for if the 
presence of a sovereign, a father, 
or a friend produces reverence and 
circumspection, how much should 
the august presence of the Supreme 
Being have this effect. It was 
given as a rule by ancient moral- 
ists, that in order to excel in vir- 
tue we should continually act as 
in the immediate presence of some 
person of great eminence whom 
we know. But how much more 
is this applicable to God ; to have 
him for the witness of our conduct 
is more than if the whole world 
were assembled to observe us ; and 
this view of God's omnipresence is 
a pleasure to a good man, for men 
judge often falsely, and always 
imperfectly. But the Lord is an 
impartial and unerring judge ; he 
beholds the good motives and up- 
right conduct of his people, and 
wherever a pious man is, God is 
with him for his help and comfort. 
— De. Blaie. 



OPIXIOX— OPPOIITUXITIES — OSTEXTATIOX. 



205 



Opt 



(^pimcrn. 

In ways we see travelers choose 
not the fairest and greenest, if it 
be either cross or contrary; but 
the nearest, though miry and un- 
even. So in opinions : let me fol- 
low not the plausiblest, but the 
truest, though more perplexed, — 
Hall. 

He that will believe only what 
he can fully comprehend, must 
have a very long head or a very 
short creed! Many gain a false 
credit for liberality of sentiment 
in religious matters, not from any 
tenderness they may have to the 
opinions or consciences of other 
men, but because they happen to 
have no opinion or conscience of 
their own. — Colton. 

Nothing makes us more agree- 
able to God and man, than to have 
great merit and a little opinion of 
ourselves. — St. Paulin. 



In important affairs we ought 
not so much to apply ourselves to 
create opportunities, as to make 
use of those Avhich present them- 
selves. — La Eochefoucauld. 

To IMPEOVE the golden moment 
of opportunity, and catch the good 
that is within our reach, is the 
great art of life. Many wants are 
suffered which might have once 



been supplied, and much time is 
lost in regretting the time which 
had been lost before. — ^Johnson. 

A GREAT deal of time is con- 
tracted in opportunity, which is 
the flower of time. — Whichcote. 

Redeem the time; catch the 
favoring gales of opportunity; O 
catch them while they breathe, 
before they ai'e irrecoverably lost ! 
Thy minutes are all upon the wing, 
and hastening to be gone. Thou 
art a borderer npon eternity. O 
leara that heavenly arithmetic of 
numbering thy days, of applying 
thy heart unto wisdom I 

Oppoetunities make us known 
to others, and still more to our- 
selves. — La Eochefoucauld. 

He who has opportunities to in- 
spect the sacred moments of ele- 
vated minds, and seizes none, is a 
son of dullness ; but he who tnrns 
those moments into ridicule, will 
betray with a kiss, and in embrac- 
ing, murder. — ^Lavatee. 

Oppoetunities for doing and 
getting good, neglected and abused, 
occasion everlasting, irretrievable, 
and immeasurable evils. — Sim- 
mons. 



"Whoever makes a great fuss 
about doing good, does very little ; 
he who wishes to be seen and no- 



206 



OSTENTATIOISr— PARDOIsT—PASSIOX. 



ticed when he is doing good, will 
not do it long; he who mingles 
humor and caprice with it, will 
do it badly. 

We wound our modesty, and 
make foul the clearness of our de- 
servings, when of ourselves we 
publish them. — Shakspeaee. 



Paedon alone will not satisfy. 
There is something further that 
nature craves; something which 
with unutterable groans she pants 
after : even life and happiness for 
evermore. She sees all her chil- 
dren go down to the grave; all 
beyond the grave is to her a wide 
waste land of doubt and uncer- 
tainty; when she looks upon it 
she has her hopes and her fears ; 
and agitated by the vicissitude of 
her passion, she finds not where 
to rest her foot. How different 
the scene which the Gospel opens. 
— Sheelock. 

We often pardon those who 
weary us, but we cannot par- 
don those whom we weary. — La 

EOCHEFOUCAULD. 

Paedon others, but not thyself, 
— Peoveeb. 



MBmon. 



The passions have an injustice 
of their own, which renders it 



dangerous to obey them, and we 
ought to mistrust them when they 
appear the most reasonable. — La 
Rochefoucauld. 

Theee is going on in the human 
heart a perpetual generation of 
passions, so that the overthrow 
of one is almost always the estab- 
lishment of another. — La Roche- 
foucauld. 

No MAN whose appetites are his 
masters can perform the duties of 
his nature with strictness and 
regularity. He that would be 
superior to external influences 
must first become superior to his 
own passions. — Johnson. 

The man whom heaven appoints 
To govern others, should himself 

first learn 
To bend his passions to the sway 

of reason. Thomson. 

Passionate persons are like 
men who stand on their heads; 
they see all things the wrong way. 
— Plato. 

Passion makes the w^ill lord of 
the reason. — Shakspeaee. 

A PHLEGMATIC insensibility is 
as difi'erent from patience as a 
pool from a harbor. Into the 
one indolence naturally sinks us; 
but if we arrive at the other, it is 
by encountering many an adverse 
wind and rough wave, with a 
more skillful pilot at the helm tlian 



P AS.^IOX — PAST, THE — PATIEXCE. 



207 



self, and a company under better 
command than the passions. — 

DiLWYN. 

TnE passions are unruly cattle, 
and therefore you must keep them 
chained up, and under the govern- 
ment of religion, reason, and pru- 
dence. If you thus keep them 
under discipline, they are useful 
servants; but if you let them 
loose, and give them head, they 
will be your masters, and unruly 
masters, and carry you, like wild 
and unbridled horses, into a thou- 
sand mischiefs and inconveniences, 
besides the great disturbance, dis- 
order, and discomposure they will 
occasion in your own mind. — Sie 
M, Hale. 

Those passionate persons who 
carry their heart in their mouth 
are rather to be pitied than feared, 
their threatenings serving no other 
purpose than to forearm him that 
is threatened. — FrLLEE. 

The passions may be humored 
till they become our master, as a 
horse may be pampered till he 
gets the better of his rider; but 
early discipline will prevent mu- 
tiny, and keep the helm in the 
hands of reason. — Cqmbekland. 



fast, t;)jc. 

Recall to your imagination 
what you so lately beheld and ad- 
mired. All vanished like a dream, 

14 



gone into air, into the dust, and 
into dead masses. It is amazing to 
think what an infinity of pleasing 
objects have perished; so soon 
perished and gone. Just as yes- 
terday the fair profusion was 
here, now it is no more to us than 
the earliest beauty of Eden. It is 
gone, and forever gone! never to 
be that beauty again, that is, iden- 
tically. The change is as if some 
celestial countenance had for a 
while beamed in smiles on • the 
earth, but were now averted to 
some other world, and then the 
earth had no power to retain the 
glory and beauty; they disowned 
and left it, and left us on the bare 
ground over which the vision of 
enchantment had spread. — Johx 

FOSTEE. 



Hath any wounded thee w^ith 
injuries ? meet them with patience. 
Hasty words rankle the wound, 
soft language dresses it, forgive- 
ness cures it, and oblivion takes 
away the scan It is more noble 
by silence to avoid an injury than 
by argument to overcome it. — 
Enchieidiox. 

Patiexce is the most excellent 
of the virtues, and in Sacred Writ 
highly praised and recommended 
by the Holy Ghost. The learned 
heathen philosophers applaud it, 
but they do not know its genuine 
basis, being without the assistance 
of God. Epictctus, the wise and 



208 



PATIEXCE — PEACE — PERFECTION 



judicious Greek, said very well: 
"Suffer and abstain." — Luthee. 

How POOE are thej who have not 

patience ! 
What wound did ever heal but by 

degrees ? Shakspeaee. 

Cheistiax patience is the very 
opposite to passion, and consists 
in bearing affliction without mur- 
muring, enduring injuries without 
revenge, and in waiting for sus- 
pended favors till God pleases to 
bestow them. Many professors 
mistake the very nature of religion, 
by desiring such an easy state as 
to have very little need of pa- 
tience ; but hardships and ditficul- 
ties will never be taken out of the 
king's high road to Zion, and there- 
fore believers have great need of 
this grace. Carnal policy, Avhich 
induces some persons for a con- 
siderable time to forbear revenge, 
is not patience ; nor is a weak dis- 
position that fears to assert its 
rights, and have justice done, to 
be termed patience, but is real 
cowardice. Many gracious per- 
sons can forbear revenge, and in 
some degree patiently endure 
affliction, but they are impatient 
with respect to promised blessings; 
they seem almost to have forgot 
that although the Lord promised 
Canaan to the believing Jews, yet 
he led them forty years in the wil- 
derness before it was accom- 
plished ; and Christ was. promised 
four thousand years before he 
came. God tries our patience in 
a similar manner; we have often 



to wait long in the path of duty 
for an answer to prayer, either 
for success in our labors or com- 
fort under our troubles. The 
best examples of this grace in the 
Bible are Moses, Job, Jeremiah, 
and Micah, but above all oar 
Saviour Jesus Christ, wlio all his 
life, and when dying, exhibited 
the brightest pattern of patience. 
— Baptist Registee. 

All that is great and permanent 
and salutary on earth is slow in 
its development. Hence patience 
has always been a prominent 
feature of true wisdom. 

Cue real blessings often appear 
to us in the shape of pains, losses, 
and disappointments; but let us 
have patience and we soon shall 
see them in their proper figures. — 
Addisox. 

Patiexce is the power of expect- 
ing long without discontent, and of 
enduring long without revenge. 



"^tRtt 



Peace and quietness are the 
most valuable possessions. — Soc- 

EATES. 

Peace with heaven is the best 
friendship. — Peoveeb. 



No MAN is perfect who does not 
desire to be more so, and every 
one sliows himself more perfect 



PERFECTIOX — PERSECUTIOX. 



209 



by aspiring after greater perfection. 
— St. Beexaed. 

Aim at perfection in everything, 
though in most things unattain- 
able; however, they wlio aim at 
it and persevere will come much 
nearer to it than those whose lazi- 
ness and despondency make them 
give it up as unattainable. — 
Chesterfield. 

To AREivE at perfection, a man 
should have very sincere friends 
or inveterate enemies; because he 
would be made sensible of his 
good or ill conduct, either by the 
censures of the one, or the admo- 
nitions of the others. — Diogexes. 

XoT WITHSTANDING- man's essen- 
tial perfection is but very little, 
his comparative perfection may be 
very considerable. If he 'looks 
upon himself in an abstracted light, 
he has not much to boast of; but 
if he considers himself with regard 
to others, he may find occasion of 
glorying, if not in his own virtues, 
at least in the absence of another's 
imperfections. This gives a differ- 
ent turn to the reflections of the 
wise man and the fool. The first 
endeavors to shine in himself, and 
the last to outshine others. The 
first is humbled by the sense of 
his own infirmities, the last is 
lifted up by the discovery of those 
which he observes in other men. 
The Avise man considers what he 
wants, and the fool what he 
abounds in. The wise man is 
]iap])y -when he gains his own ap- 



probation, and the fool when he 
recommends himself to the ap- 
plause of those about him. — Ad- 
dison. 



PERSEcrTiON and intolerancy 
are words at which my soul re- 
coils, as nothing is more unreason- 
able and contrary to the true 
genius of Christianity. To at- 
tempt to rob men of their private 
judgment, or to persecute them 
because they difier from us in 
thought, is as useless as it is 
wicked; it may make hypocrites, 
but it cannot make Christians. 
Attempts have been made to es- 
tablish an exact uniformity of sen- 
timent, but all in vain ; and so it 
must be while variety character- 
izes all the works of the Creator. 
Racks, tortures, gibbets, and fires, 
with all the instruments of cruelty, 
Iiave been applied, but the mind 
has risen superior to all ; yea, the 
very sanguinary methods made 
use of have, instead of repressing, 
supported and strengthened the 
cause of truth, while it has injured 
that of the opposers. The spirit 
of persecution has too much pre- 
vailed in every age, and almost in 
every party; nor has free tolera- 
tion been rightly understood till 
within these few years, as the daAvn 
of truth, love, and intelligence ap- 
pears, and the glorious sun of re- 
ligious liberty sheds his benign in- 
fluence around us. May it never 
cease to shine till the whole world 



210 



PERSECUTION— PERSEYEKANCE— PIETY. 



be enlightened, and the spirit of 
intolerance and religions oppres- 
sion be heard of no more. — Buck. 

Happy the affront which Ave 
share with God. Believe me, 
nothing is more to be feared than 
the love of such persons that 
we please without Christ. — St. 
Paulix. 



Peeseveeance is as an image of 
eternity. Eternity is given alone 
to that, or rather this gives a man 
to eternity. — St. Beexaed. 

All the performances of human 
art, at which we look with praise 
or wonder, are instances of the 
resistless force of perseverance. 
It is by this that the quarry be- 
comes a pyramid, and that distant 
countries are united with canals. 
It is therefore of the utmost im- 
portance that those who have any 
intention of deviating from the 
beaten roads of life, and acquiring 
a reputation superior to names 
hourly swept away by time among 
the refuse of fame, should add to 
their reason and their spirit the 
jjower of persisting in their pur- 
poses, acquire the art of sapping 
what they cannot batter, and the 
liabit of vanquishing obstinate re- 
sistance by obstinate attacks. — 
JonxsoN. 

Aet thou called to be a scullion 
or a street-cleaner ? Act well 
your humble part and you shall 



soon find yourself in one that is 
higher ; but be sure that God will 
never commence for you the work 
of saintship where you are not, but 
where you are. Fill fuU of your- 
self the spot where God has placed 
you; grow daily till the place 
overflows with you, and your 
borders will surely be enlarged. 
So shall you rise upward, step by 
step, on secure footing, until at 
last you shall sit down in that 
highest of all apartments from 
which, since its name is heaven, 
none are ever rejected. — H. W. 
Beechee. 



iielg. 



Piety is elevation of mind 
toward the Supreme Being, and 
extension of the thought to an- 
other life. The other life is future, 
and the Supreme Being is invisi- 
ble. None would have recourse 
to an invisible power, but that all 
other subjects had eluded their 
hopes. None would fix their at- 
tention upon the future, but that 
they are discontented with the 
present. If the senses were feasted 
with perpetual pleasure, they 
would always keep the mind in 
subjection. Reason has no author- 
ity over us but by its power to 
warn us against evil. — Johxson. 

No TEiiTMPns are comparable 
to those of piety, no trophies 
so magnificent and durable as 
those v.'hich victorious faith erect- 



PIETY — PITY — PLEASURE. 



211 



eth. They do for surpass the 
most famous achievements of 
pagan heroes. — Bishop Baeeow. 

A MIND full of piety and knowl- 
edge is always rich ; it is a bank 
that never fails ; it yields a perpet- 
ual dividend of happiness. 



iits. 



Pitt is to many of the unhappy 
a source of comfort in hopeless 
distresses, as it contributes to 
recommend them to themselves, 
by proving that they have not lost 
the regard of others ; and heaven 
seems to indicate the duty even 
of barren compassion by inclining 
us to weep for evils which we 
cannot remedy. — Johxso^st. 



Pleastjees, like the rose, are 
sweet but prickly. The honey 
dotb not countervail the sting. 
AU the world's delights are van- 
ity and end in vexation. Like 
Judas, while they kiss they betray. 
I would neither be a stoic nor an 
epicure, allow of no pleasure, nor 
give way to all. They are good 
sauce, but naught to make a meal 
of. I may use them sometimes 
for digestion, never for food. — 
Bishop Henshaw. 

Tntellecttjal pleasures are of 
a nobler kind than any others. 
Thev belong to beings of the high- 



est order. They are the inclina- 
tions of heaven, and the entertain- 
ments of the Deity. — Colliee. 

He tliat has the business of life 
at his disposal, and has nobody to 
account to for his minutes but 
God and himself, may, if he pleases, 
be happy without drudging for it. 
He needs not flatter the vain, nor 
be tired with the impertinent, nor 
stand to the courtesy of knavery 
and folly. He needs not dance 
after the caprice of a humorist, 
nor bear a part in the extrava- 
gance of another. His fate does 
not hang upon any man's face; 
a smile wiU not transport him, 
nor a frown ruin him ; for his for- 
tune is better fixed than to float 
upon the pleasure of the nice and 
changeable. — Colliee. 

Maxkixd would be less attached 
to the world, if they did not flatter 
themselves with the hope of enjoy- 
ing more pleasure than they had 
hitherto experienced. A child 
fancies that as soon as he shall 
arrive at a certain stature he shall 
have more pleasure than w^hat he 
now enjoys. The youth persuades 
himself that men who are settled 
in the world are much more happy 
than young people can be at his 
age. While we think ourselves 
condemned to live single, a single 
life seems intolerable; and when 
some are married, they wish them- 
selves single again. Thus we go 
on from fancy to fancy, and from 
one chimera to another till death 



212 



PLEASUEE. 



arrives, which subverts all onr 
imaginarj projects of happiness, 
and makes ns know bj our own 
experience what the experience of 
others might have fully taught us 
long before, that is, that the 
whole world is vanity, that every 
state, all ages, and all conditions, 
have inconveniences peculiar to 
themselves, and one which is com- 
mon to them all, I mean a charac- 
ter of disproportion to onr hearts, 
so that by changing our situation 
or condition, we often do no more 
than change our kind of infelicity. 
— Sauein. 

WiiEX the idea of any pleasure 
strikes your imagination, make a 
just computation between the du- 
ration of the pleasure and that 
of the repentance that is likely to 
follow it. — Epictettts. 

Pleasitee, like quicksilver, is 

bright and coy ; 
We strive to grasp it with our 

utmost skill. 
Still it eludes us, and it ghtters 

still : 
If seized at last, compute your 

mighty gains; 
"What is it, but rank poison in 

your veins ? Youxo. 

The love of pleasure, or dissipa- 
tion, is allowed to be the reigning 
evil of the present day. It is too 
often cultivated as the readiest 
relief to misfortunes or domestic 
infelicity. It draws the mind 
awhile from the subject of its 



distress, and suffers it to enjoy an 
interval of ease ; but this source is 
as treacherous as it is momentary, 
and plunges the mind in greater 
evils, for it not only uniits for 
business as well as religion, but is 
an inlet to many vices. The 
roses of pleasure seldom last long 
enough to adorn the brow of him 
who plucks them, and they are 
the only roses which do not retain 
their sweetness after they have 
lost their beauty. — De. Blaie. 

XoxE has more frequent conver- 
sations with disagreeable self than 
the man of pleasure. His entliu- 
siasms are but few and trai:!?ient ; 
his appetites, like angry creditors, 
continually making fruitless de- 
mands for what he is unable to 
pay; and the greater his former 
pleasures, the more strong his 
regret, the more impatient his 
expectations. A life of pleasure 
is, therefore, the most unpleasing 
life. — Goldsmith. 

The man of pleasure may en- 
deavor to stifle his uneasiness, but 
through all his defenses it will 
penetrate. When he sees others 
distinguished for piety and sense, 
and reflects on the time and prop- 
erty he has wasted, he must be 
miserable. The noise of merri- 
ment may be heard, but heaviness 
lies at the heart. While the 
tabret and the viol play, a melan- 
choly voice sounds in his ears ; in 
the midst of all his gayety a hand 
appears to come forth on the wall, 



roETIlY — rOLITEXESS. 



213 



and to write his doom. False 
pleasure is as voices that sing 
around us, but whose strains 
allure to ruin. It is as a banquet 
spread where poison is in every 
dish. It is as a couch which in- 
vites us to repose, but to sleep on 
it is death. — De. Blaie. 



fmtrg. 

Ix all countries it has been, the 
fate and progress of poetry to 
begin with the wonderful and sub- 
lime, with the mysterious majesty 
of the gods, and the elevated 
characters of heroic times, and 
ever afterward to descend lower 
and lower from this lofty height, 
to approach nearer and nearer to 
earth, till at last it sinks, never to 
rise again, into the common life 
and citizenship of ordinary men. 
The region most favorable to 
poetry lies between these two 
extremes, while the magnanimity 
of the heroic time still appears 
natural and unsought, and while 
our conceptions of the Deity do 
not stalk before us in gigantic 
forms of supernatural strength, 
but have assumed the milder and 
more touching character of human 
tenderness, serenity, and repose. 

— SCHLEGEL. 

PoETEY is sublime when it 
awakens in the mind any great 
and good affection, as piety, 
or patriotism. This is one of 
the noblest effects of the art. 



The Psalms are remarkable, be- 
yond all other writings, for their 
power of inspiring devout emo- 
tions. But it is not in this respect 
only that they are sublime. Of 
the divine nature they contain 
the most magnificent descriptions 
that the soul of man can compre- 
hend. The hundred and fourth 
Psalm, in particular, displays the 
power and goodness of Providence 
in creating and preserving the 
world, and the various tribes of 
animals in it, with such majestic 
brevity and beauty as it is vain to 
look for in any human composi- 
tion. — Beattie. 



Politeness has been defined to 
be artificial good-nature; but we 
may aflfirm, with much greater 
propriety, that good -nature is nat- 
ural politeness. — Stanislaus. 

Politeness of mind consists in 
the conception of honorable and 
delicate thoughts. — La Eochefou- 

CAULD. 

He who sedulously attends, po- 
litely asks, calmly speaks, coolly 
answers, and ceases when he has 
no more to say, is in possession of 
some of the best requisites of 
man. — Lavatee. 

Teue politeness requires humil- 
ity, good sense, and benevolence. 
To think more highly of ourselves 



214 



POLITENESS— POVERTY. 



than we ought to tlnnk destroys 
its quickening principle. — Sigoue- 

NET. 

Politeness is real kindness 
kindly expressed. — Witheespoon. 



p00r» (See POVEETY.) 



^0teig. 

It is the great privilege of pov- 
erty to be happy unenvied, to be 
healthful without physic, and se- 
cure without a guard; to obtain 
from the bounty of nature what 
the great and wealthy are com- 
pelled to procure by the help of 
artists, and the attendance of flat- 
terers and spies. — Johnson. 

Mt condescending Master loved 
the poor, and it is impious in his 
ministers to dare to despise tliem. 
— E. Hill. 

Have the courage to own that 
you are poor, and you disarm pov- 
erty of its sharpest sting. — Stan- 
islaus. 

Contented poverty's no dismal 
thing, 

Eree from the cares that affluence 
must bring ; 

At distance both alike deceive our 
view; 

Nearer approached, they take an- 
other hue. 



The poor man's labor relishes his 
meat. 

The morsel's pleasant, and his rest 
is sweet ; 

The little nature craves we find 
with ease. 

Too much but surfeits into a dis- 
ease. 

And what we have more than we 
do enjoy, 

Instead of satisfying, will but cloy. 
Duck. 

Poveety is not always of the 
nature of an affliction or judgment, 
but is rather merely a state of life, 
appointed by God for the proper 
trial and exercise of the virtues of 
contentment, patience, and resig- 
nation ; and for one man to mur- 
mur against God, because he pos- 
sesses not those riches he has given 
to another, is "the wrath that 
killeth the foolish man, and the 
envy that slayeth the silly one." — 

BUEGH. 

Poveety is no real disgrace, 
though considered as such by 
those whose minds are influenced 
by pride and custom more than 
truth and benevolence. It must 
be confessed, indeed, that a con- 
siderable part of mankind make 
themselves poor by their extrava- 
gance or imprudence ; yet poverty 
is frequently an attendant on piety 
and genius, since many of the 
most wise and excellent charac- 
ters have languished under the 
severity of comparative want. We 
may mention Homer, Otway, and 



POWER — PIIAISE. 



215 



Goklsiiiith as instances; but, above 
all, our blessed Saviour and bis 
apostles. — Buck. 



Power must be used very so- 
berly to make it lasting. — Cato. 

Power and liberty are like heat 
and moisture. Where they are well 
mixed, every tiling prospers ; where 
they are single, they are destruct- 
ive. — Sayille. 

The greater a man is in power 
above others, the more he ought 
to excel them in virtue, None 
ought to govern who is not better 
than the governed. — CTRrs. 



Some virtuous actions have their 
own trumpets, and without any 
noise from thyself will have their 
resound abroad. Busy not thy best 
member in the encomium of thy- 
self. Praise is a debt we owe 
unto the virtues of others, and 
due unto our own from all, whom 
malice hath not made mutes, or 
envy struck dumb. Fall not, how- 
ever, into the common prevaricat- 
ing way of self-commendation and 
boasting, by denoting the imper- 
fections of others. He who dis- 
commendeth others obliquely, 
commendeth himself. He who 
whispers their infirmities, pro- 



claims his own exemption from 
them; and consequently says, 1 
am not as this publican whom I 
talk of. Open ostentation and 
loud vainglory is more tolerable 
than this obliquity, as hut con- 
taining some froth, no ink ; as but 
consisting of a personal price of 
folly, nor complicated with un- 
charitableness. Superfluously we 
seek a precarious applause abroad : 
every good man hath his plaudit 
within himself; and though his 
tongue be silent, is not without 
loud cymbals in his breast. Con- 
science will become his panegyr- 
ist, and never forget to crown and 
extol him unto himself. — Sir T. 
Browxe. 

I BELIEVE, indeed, that it is 
more laudable to suifer great mis- 
fortunes than to do great things. 
— Staxislaus. 

The real satisfaction which 
praise can afford, is when what 
is repeated aloud agrees with the 
whispers of conscience, by show- 
ing us that we have not endeav- 
ored to deserve well in vain. — 

JOHXSON. 

All they who give good counsel 

praise deserve. 
Though in the active part they 

cannot serve. Pitt. 

He who would free from malice 

pass his days, 
Must live obscure, and never merit 

praise. Gay. 



216 



PRAISE — PEAYER. 



We often choose envenomed 
praises, whicli by a reaction ex- 
pose faults in those we are prais- 
ing that we should not dare to 
discover in any other way. — La 

ROGHEFOUOAULD. 

To PEAisE good actions heartily 
is in some sort to take part in 
them. — La Rochefoucauld. 

Just praise is only a debt, but 
flattery is a present. 

Be thou the first true merit to be- 
friend ; 

His praise is lost who waits till all 
commend. Pope. 

Pbaises are satire when insin- 
cere. — Sta^'islaus. 

The villainous censure is extorted 
praise. Pope. 



He who prays as he ought will 
endeavor to live as he prays. He 
that can live in sin, and abide in 
the ordinary duties of prayer, nev- 
er prays as he ought. A truly 
gracious praying frame is utterly 
inconsistent with the love of any 
sin. — Owen". 

No BUSINESS can be so hasty but 
our prayer may precede it; the 
wings whereof are so nimble that 
it can fly up to heaven and solicit 
God, and bring down an answer 



before ever our words need to 
come forth of our lips. — Hall. 

We know that the infinity of 
God cannot be moved or actually 
drawn nearer to us by prayer, but 
prayer draws the Christian nearer 
to God. If a boat is attached to 
a large vessel, the person in the 
former does not bring the ship 
nearer to him by his pulling the 
rope, but he brings the boat and 
himself in it nearer to the ship. 
So the more fervently we pray, 
the nearer we bring ourselves to 
the Lord most high. — R. Hill. 

Peater is the key of the day 
and lock of the night; and we 
should every day begin and end, 
bid ourselves good-morrow and 
good-night with prayer. This 
will make our labor prosperous 
and our rest sweet. — Lord Berke- 



Christ gave the Lord's Prayer 
according to the ideas of the Jews ; 
that is, he directed it only to the 
Father, whereas they that pray 
should pray as though they were 
to be heard for the Son's sake. 
This was because Christ would 
not be praised before his death. — 
Luther. 

True prayer hath no necessary 
commerce with the outward mem- 
bers of the body ; for it requires 
not the voice, but the mind ; not 
the stretching of the hands, but 
the intention of the soul ; not any 



riiAYEP.. 



217 



outward sliape of carriage of the 
body, but the inward behavior of 
the understanding. Can it, then, 
slacken thy worldly business and 
occasions to mix with them sighs 
and groans, which are the most 
eiiectual kinds of prayer ? 

Peatee without means is a 
mockery of God. — Hall. 

God hardly gives his Spirit even 
to those whom he has established 
in grace, if they do not pray for it 
on all occasions; not only once, 
but many times. — John Wesley. 

If thou thinkest God doth not 
hear thee, why pray at all ? If he 
does mind thee, why dost thou not 
pray more fervently, fixedly, and 
hear more attentively. This at- 
tention consists in the frame of the 
soul, for bodily exercise is required 
for our sakes, not God's; gesture 
and speech are to quicken our af- 
fections. — Chaenock. 

Peatee is the only doctrine I 
take to bedward, and I need no 
other laudanum than this to make 
me sleep ; after which I close mine 
eyes in security, content to take 
my leave of the sun, and sleep 
unto the resurrection. — Sie T, 
Beowne. 

The chosen vessel w^ould be 
freed from temptations; he re- 
ceives a supply of grace : the sick 
man asks release; he receives pa- 
tience: he asks for life, and re- 



ceives glory. Let us ask what we 
think best ; let Him give what he 
knows best. — Hall. 

"While we are straitened in 
our expectations, the blessing is 
withheld ; but when our hearts 
are enlarged, the more we ask the 
more we have. — R. Hill. 

Peatee is ever profitable ; at 
night it is our covering, in the 
morning it is our armor. Prayer 
should be the key of the day, and 
the lock of the night. Prayer 
sanctifies all our actions. He is 
listed in God's -service and protec- 
tion who makes it his first work 
to be enrolled by prayer under the 
standard of the Almighty. He 
carries an assistant angel with him 
for his help who begs his benedic- 
tion from above ; and without it 
he is lame and unarmed. — Fel- 

THAM. 

Peatee and tears are nothing 
without endeavors. — Hall. 

He who loves little, prays little ; 
he who loves much, prays much. 

— AUSTIX. 

Peatee is the breath of a new- 
born soul, and there can be no 
Christian life without it. — R. Hill, 

Peatee is a haven to the ship- 
wrecked mariner, an anchor to 
them that are sinking in the waves, 
a BtaE to the limbs that totter, a 
mine of jewels to the poor, a 



218 



PEAYER. 



security to the rich, a healer of 
diseases, and a guardian of health. 
Prayer at once secures the contin- 
uance of our blessings, and dissi- 
pates the cloud of our calamities. 
O blessed prayer! thou art the 
unwearied conqueror of human 
woes, the firm foundation of hu- 
man happiness, the source of ever- 
during joy, the mother of philos- 
ophy. The man who can pray 
truly, though languishing in ex- 
tremest indigence, is richer than 
all besides ; while the wretch who 
never bowed the knee, though 
proudly seated as monarch of na- 
tions, is of all men most destitute. 
— Oheysostom. 

A FAMILY without prayer is like 
a house without a roof, exposed to 
all the injury of weather, and to 
every storm that blows. 

Engage in no pursuit in which 
thou canst not look up unto God 
and say, " Bless me in this, my 
Father!" 

If our prayers want success, 
they want heart ; their blessing is 
according to their vigor. 

Theee is one universal receipt 
for all evils — prayer. — Hall. 

The best sacrifices are the pray- 
ers of faith. — Hall. 

One of the most essential prep- 
arations for eternity is delight in 
praising God ; a higher acquire- 



ment, I do think, than even de- 
light and devotedness in prayer. 
— Chalmers. 

We should pray with as much 
earnestness as those who expect 
everything from God. We should 
act with as much energy as those 
who expect everything from them- 
selves. — OOLTON. 

We, ignorant of ourselves. 

Beg often our own harms, which 

the wise powers 
Deny us for our good ; so we find 

profit. 
By losing of our prayers. 

Shakspeare. 

When thou prayest for spiritual 
graces, let thy prayer be abso- 
lute ; when for temporal blessings, 
add a clause of God's pleasure ; in 
both, with faith and humiliation. 
So shalt thou undoubtedly receive 
what thou desirest, or more, or 
better. Never prayer, rightly 
made, was made unheard, or heard 
ungranted. — Enchiridion. 

God's command to " pray with- 
out ceasing," is founded on the 
necessity we have of his grace to 
preserve the life of God in the 
soul, which can no more subsist 
one moment without it than the 
body can without air. — John 
Wesley. 

God is more willing to give 
good gifts unto them that ask 
him, than men are to give them 



PREACIIIXG. 



219 



unto their children! God could 
not have struck the foundation 
note of human desire squarer than 
he did by this declaration. — H. ^Y. 
Beecher. 



WnEN you preach do not let us 
hear the acclamations, but the 
groans of the people; let the tears 
of the auditors be your applause. 
This is not altogether what some 
young preachers propose to them- 
selves who study more to please 
the ear than to move the heart, 
who love to be praised, and are 
mightily pleased with themselves, 
if in the time of sermon somebody 
cries out at the bright places, or 
after the gay and easy auditors say 
one to another. How beautiful is 
that ! I am charmed ! I never heard 
anything like it. A preacher 
of this character would be much 
mortified if one should come from 
his sermon without speaking a 
word, or only explaining one's self 
by sighs. Such praises would not 
please him, and I do not know 
wiiether some old preachers would 
be contented with them. — St. 
Jerome. 

That man is a bad preacher in 
the pulpit who is not a good 
preacher out of it; and no man in 
the world has a right to stand up 
for God if God has not adorned 
him with personal holiness. We 
should preach by what we are as 
well as by wliat we say. — R. Hill. 



To PREACH plainly and simply is 
a great art. Christ himself talks 
of tilling ground, of mustard-seed, 
etc. ; he used altogether homely 
and simple similitudes. — Ll'ther. 

Heavexly wisdom creates heav- 
erdy utterance. There is some- 
thing in preaching the Gospel 
with the Holy Ghost sent down 
from heaven, I long to get at. 
If we deal with divine realities we 
ought to feel them such, and then 
the people will in general feel 
with us, and acknowledge the 
power that does wonders on the 
heart; while dry, formal, discus- 
sional preaching leaves the hear- 
ers just where it found them. 
Still, they who are thus favored 
had need to be blessed with a deal 
of humility. We are too apt to 
be proud of that which is not our 
own. O humility, humility, humil- 
ity !— R. Hill. 

If ministers (either in public 
preaching or in private conversa- 
tion) have to do with a stupid, 
hardened sinner, let them set the 
terrors of the law before him, 
and endeavor by corrosives to eat 
down the proud flesh of his heart ; 
but when they meet with a sinner 
whose soul is pierced, humbled, 
and touched to the quick with a 
pungent sense of sin, they should 
set before him the love and ten- 
derness, the blood and righteous- 
ness of the compassionate Saviour. 
Nothing but the balm of Gilead 
and the lenitives of the Gospel be- 
long to such a person. — Madais^ 



220 



PREACHING — PRESENT, THE. 



To PEEACH the Gospel properly 
is so to handle every subject of 
discourse as to keep Christ con- 
tinually in the view of the hear- 
ers. — Owen. 

Rash preaching always disgusts ; 
timid preaching does nothing but 
leave poor souls fast asleep ; while 
bold preaching, if delivered under 
an affectionate love to the souls of 
men, and with an humble desire 
to promote the glory of God, is 
the only preaching that is owned 
and blessed of Him. — R. Hill. 

Cold, formal, half-way sermons 
neither give half the otfense nor 
do half the good, as those which 
are plain and faithful. Truth can 
best defend itself without the as- 
sistance of our low cunning in at- 
tempting to make it palatable to 
the carnal mind. — R. Hill. 

Good preachers give their hear- 
ers fruit, not flowers. — Italian 
Peoveeb. 

The object of preaching is, con- 
stantly to remind mankind of what 
mankind are constantly forgetting; 
not to supply the defects of human 
intelligence, but to fortify the 
feebleness of human resolutions; 
to recall mankind from the by- 
paths where they turn, into that 
broad path of salvation which all 
know, but few tread. — Sidney 
Smith. 

Theee is nothing would con- 
tribute more to increase the util- 



ity of preaching, than to employ 
it less on general and common- 
place, to give it a more pointed 
direction toward the present state 
of opinion and manners. General 
discourses in proof of acknowl- 
edged principles, or in illustration 
of obvious doctrines, gradually 
lose their effect; but discour- 
ses to counteract growing preju- 
dices, or to give a check to fash- 
ionable vices or prevalent errors, 
may make a more strong and 
beneficial impression. — Monthly 
Review. 

As TO preaching morality, it is 
true that it is the duty of a preach- 
er of the Gospel to press practical 
godliness upon the consciences of 
men ; but I never hear it without 
extreme concern from the lips of a 
divine, that practical religion and 
morality are one and the same 
thing. This is reducing practical 
Christianity to heathen virtue, 
and sermons to mere moral essays; 
but on the contrary, let us make 
a proper use of our high commis- 
sion, let us publish the word of rec- 
onciliation through our Redeemer, 
and propound peace and pardon 
to the penitent by him, and while 
we inculcate moral duties upon 
scriptural motives, we properly 
unite faith and practice together. 
— Bishop Hoesley. 



If it be well to-day, it is mad- 
ness to make the present misera- 



PRIDE. 



ble by fearing it may be ill to- 
morrow ; when your belly is full 
of to-day's dinner, to fear you 
shall want the next day's supper; 
for it may be you shall not, and 
then to what purpose was this 
day's affliction. We are dead to 
yesterday, and we are not yet 
born to the morrow. — Jekemy 
Taylor. 



fritre. 



Peide has a greater share than 
goodness of heart in the remon- 
strances we make to those who 
are guilty of faults. We reprove 
not so much with a view to cor- 
rect them, as to persuade them that 
we are exempt from those faults 
ourselves. — La RociiEForcAULD. 

Theee is a paradox in pride. It 
makes some men ridiculous, but 
prevents others from becoming so. 
— Fuller. 

The same pride which makes 
us censure the faults from which 
we fancy ourselves exempt, in- 
duces us to despise the good qual- 
ities which we Avant. — La Roche- 

FOUCAULD. 

Peide, ill-nature, and want of 
sense, are the three great sources of 
ill-manners. Without some one of 
these defects, no man will behave 
himself ill for want of experience, 
or what in the language of fools 
is called knowing the world. — 
•Swift. 



The disesteem and contempt of 
others is inseparable from pride. 
It is hardly possible to overvalue 
ourselves but by undervaluing our 
neighbors; and we commonly 
most undervalue those who are by 
other men thought to be wiser 
than we are; and it is a kind of 
jealousy -in ourselves that they are 
so which provokes our pride. — 
Claeexdox. 

Of all the causes which conspire 
to blind 

Man's erring judgment, and mis- 
lead the mind. 

What the weak head with strong- 
est bias rules. 

Is pride, that never-failing vice of 
fools. Pope. 

Peide is the ape of charity. In 
show not much unlike, but some- 
what fuller of action ; in seeking 
the one, take heed thou light not 
upon the other. They are two par- 
allels never but asunder. Charity 
feeds the poor, so does pride; 
charity builds a hospital, so does 
pride. In this they differ : charity 
gives her glory to God, pride 
takes her glory from man. — 
ExcniEiDiox. 

Of all kinds of pride, that which 
is called spiritual pride is the most 
hateful and hurtful. It is the 
most like Satan, and the main 
handle by Avhich he has hold of 
religious men, and does so much 
mischief among ])rofessors. Pride 
of this kind chiefly arises from too 
high an estimation of our kiiowl- 



222 



PRIDE. 



edge or gifts. This causes the 
professor to neglect studying the 
Bible and his own heart, and to 
despise others. This kind of pride 
is the more dangerous, because it 
is perhaps the most secret of all 
sins, and the heart is more deceit- 
ful in this matter than in any 
other. The very nature of this 
sin is to work self-confidence, and 
drive away simplicity and humil- 
ity. It appears in many shapes 
undiscerned, and takes occasion to 
rise even from the exercise of real 
grace. Spiritual pride causes us 
to speak of the ftiilings of others 
in a bitter and severe manner, 
Avhile we attempt to hide or 
defend the greatest improprieties 
in our own conduct. Since, there- 
fore, this sin is so secret and 
subtle, so dishonorable to real 
religion, and so difficult to get rid 
of, Ave have need to have the great- 
est watch over our own hearts, 
and to cry to God for divine 
assistance continually against it. — 
PiiEsiDEXT Edwards. 

As THOU desirest the love of 
God and man, beware of pride. 
It is a tumor in thy mind that 
breaks and poisons all thy actions; 
it is a worm in thy treasure which 
eats and ruins thy estate. It 
loves no man, is beloved of no 
man. It disparages virtue in 
another by detraction; it disre- 
wards goodness in itself by vain- 
glory. The friend of the flatterer, 
tlie mother of envy, the nurse of 
fury, tlie band of luxury, the sin 
of devils, and the devil in man- 



kind. It hates superiors, it scorns 
inferiors, it owns no equals. In 
short, till thou hate it, God hates 
thee. — QiJAELES. 

Proud persons in general think 
of nothing but themselves, and 
imagine that all the world thinks 
about them too. They suppose 
that they are the subject of almost 
every conversation, and fancy 
every wheel which moves in 
society hath some relation to 
them. People of this sort are 
very desirous of knowing what is 
said of them, and as they have no 
conception that any but great 
things are said of them, they are 
extremely solicitous to know them, 
and often put this question : " Who 
do men say that I am?" — De. J. 
Fordyce. 

Pride is as loud a beggar as 
want, and a great deal more saucy. 
When you have bought one fine 
thing you must buy ten more, 
that your appearance may be all 
of a piece ; but it is easier to sup- 
press the first desire, than to sat- 
isfy all that follow it. — Franklin. 

Pride, like the magnet, con- 
stantly points to one object, self; 
but, unlike the magnet, it has no 
attractive pole, but at all points 
repels. — Colton. 

The seat of pride is in the heart, 
and only there ; and if it be not 
there, it is neither in the look 
nor in the clothes. — Lord Claren- 
don. 



PROCRASTIXATIOX — PKOFESSIO.N. 



223 



Peoceastixatiox in every age 
has been tlie ruin of a great part 
of mankind. Dwelling amid end- 
less prospects of what they are 
hereafter to do, they cannot so 
properly be said to live as to be 
always about to live, and the fu- 
ture has ever been the gulf in 
Avhich the present is swallowed up 
and lost. Hence arise many of 
those evils which befall men in 
their worldly concerns. What 
might at present be arranged with 
advantage, being delayed cannot 
be arranged at all. To-morrow, 
being loaded with the concerns of 
to-day in addition to its own, is 
clogged and embarrassed. Thus 
alfairs which have been postponed 
multiply and crowd upon one 
another, till at last they prove so 
intricate, and the pressure of bus- 
iness becomes so great, that noth- 
ing is done properly. Evils of the 
same kind, and arising from simi- 
lar causes, overtake men in their 
moral and spiritual interests. 
There are very few but who are 
sensible of some things in their 
character and behavior which 
ought to be corrected, and which 
at one time or other they intend 
to correct; some headstrong pas- 
sion which they design to subdue; 
some bad habit which they pur- 
pose to reform, and some improper 
connection which they are resolved 
to break off. But the convenient 
season for their reformation is not 
yet come ; certain obstacles are in 

15 



the way, which they expect by 
and by to surmount, and therefore 
they go on in their present courses, 
trusting to a future day to begin 
their designed amendment. In 
the mean time the angel of death 
descends, and in the midst of 
their distant plans executes his 
commission, and carries them 
away. guard against delusions 
of this kind, which have been 
fatal to so many. Correct imme- 
diately what is wrong, for who 
can tell how long you shall live 
and enjoy your present advantages. 
— ^De. Blaie. 



Peofessiox is only the badge of 
a dhristian, belief the beginning; 
but practice is the nature, and 
custom the perfection. For it is 
this which translates Christianity 
from a bare notion into a real 
business ; from useless speculations 
into substantial duties; and from 
an idea in the brain into an exist- 
ence in the life. An upright con- 
versation is the bringing of the 
general theorems of religion into 
the particular instances of solid 
experience ; and, if it were not 
for this, religion would exist no- 
where but in the Bible. The 
grand deciding question at the 
last day will be not, What have 
you said? or, What have you be- 
lieved? but, What have you done 
more than others ? — South. 



224 



PROGRESS — PROMISES — PROSPERITY. 



Let me expostulate the matter 
with you, O ye professors whose 
religion lieth only in your tongues. 
I mean you who are little or noth- 
ing known from the rest of the 
rabble of the world, only you can 
talk better than they. Hear me a 
word or two: "If I speak with 
the tongues of men and angels, 
and have not charity," that is, 
love to God and Christ and 
saints and holiness, "I am noth- 
ing," no child of God, and so have 
nothing to do with heaven. A 
prating tongue will not unlock the 
gates of heaven, nor blind the eyes 
of the Judge. Look to it. " The 
wise in heart will receive com- 
mandments : but a prating fool 
shall fall." — BuNYAX. 

An outward profession, howev- 
er plausible, will not do without 
corresponding actions. How much 
better is it to have a peaceful sense 
of my own wretchedness, and an 
humble waiting upon God for 
sanctifying grace, than to talk 
much and appear to be somebody 
in religion. — Owen. 

Those professors who after a 
short time turn away are like the 
new moon, which shines a little at 
the first part of the night, but it 
is soon down before half the night 
is over. — De. Gurnall. 



CnpjSTiANs who are forever 
living on their own experiences 



are like a leaf which has got into 
an eddy in the river, where it 
keeps whirling round and round 
in its own track. You shall see 
it there, whirling, and shall go 
away and sleep, and in the morn- 
ing you shall come again and find 
the leaf there still. At noon 
there it is, and when night comes 
it is still nothing but whirl, whirl, 
whirl. Working, traveling hard 
enough, to be sure, but making no 
progress. Now let something 
break it loose from that whirlpool 
and away it will go merrily down 
the stream. Too much looking 
backward and inward is bad for 
piety and progression. — H. "W. 
Beecher. 



Nothing in the v/orld repels 
the enemy's temptations so well 
as when we can fasten on a good 
promise, and set it in opposition 
to the devil's malice against our 
precious souls. — Rowland Hill. 



Peospekity, as is truly asserted 
by Seneca, very much obstructs 
the knowledge of ourselves. No 
man can form a just estimate of 
his own powers by inactive specu- 
lation. That fortitude which has 
encountered no dangers, that pru- 
dence which has surmounted no 
difficulties, that integrity which 



PROSPERITY. 



lias been attacked by no tempta- 
tions can, at best, be considered as 
gold not yet brought to the test, 
of which, therefore, the true value 
cannot be assigned. Equally 
necessary is some variety of for- 
tune to a nearer inspection of the 
manners, principles, and affections 
of mankind. — Johnson. 

Prospeeitt is redoubled to a 
good man by his generous use of 
it. It is retiected back upon him 
from every one whom he makes 
happy. 

This consideration is of great 
use to them who envy the pros- 
perity of the wicked, and the suc- 
cess of persecutors, and the baits 
of fishes, and the bread of dogs. 
God fails not to sow blessings in 
the long furrows which the plow- 
ers plow upon the back of the 
Church. — Jeremy Taylor. 

So USE prosperity that adversity 
may not abuse thee. If in the 
one security admits no fears, in the 
other despair will afford no hopes. 
He that in prosperity can foretell 
a danger can in adversity foresee 
deliverance. — Enchiridion. 

O how portentous is prosperity ! 
How, comet-like, it threatens while 
it shines. Young. 

Prosperity gains friends, and 
adversity tries them. 

Temporal prosperity is often 
hostile to our happiness. Had the 



Lord given us a life full of charms 
we should have taken little 
thought about another. It is quite 
natural to be delighted with things 
that are agreeable, but we shall 
find that whatever attaches us to 
the world at least cools our ardor 
for spiritual things. When Noah's 
dove first flew out of the ark, find- 
ing nothing but wind and rain, 
she returned for shelter and rest; 
but when in her second flight she 
saw plains and fields, there she 
alighted and staid. So when the 
world holds out riches or honor, 
we are caught by these things, 
but when we are in poverty or 
trouble, then we turn our eyes to- 
ward God and seek happiness in 
its proper source, l^ay, even as 
things are now, with all the dis- 
tresses that belong to life, we find 
it very diflicult to detach our 
affections from the world; but 
what would be the case if all 
prosperity attended our wishes? 
What would be our condition 
were there no disorders to our 
bodies, and no mental trials? — 
Saurin. 

Prosperity has this property, 
it puffs up narrow souls, makes 
them imagine themselv^es high and 
mighty, and look down upon the 
world with contempt ; but a truly 
noble and resolved spirit appears 
greatest in distress, and then be- 
comes more bright and conspicu- 
ous. — Plutarch. 

A smooth sea never made a 
skillful mariner; neither does unin- 



226 



PROSPERITY — PROVIDEN'CE. 



terrnpted prosperity and success 
qualify men for usefulness and 
happiness. 

Peosperity too often has the 
same effect on its possessor that a 
calm sea has on the Dutch mariner, 
who frequently, it is said, in these 
circumstances ties up the rudder, 
gets drunk, and goes to sleep. — 

DiLWTX. 



It was perhaps ordained by 
Providence to hinder us from 
tyrannizing over one another, that 
no individual should be of such 
importance as to cause, by his re- 
tirement or death, any chasm in 
the world. — Jonxsox. 

If in a dark business we per- 
ceive God to guide us by the 
lantern of his providence, it is 
good to foUow the light close, lest 
we lose it by lagging behind. — 

FULLEE. 

The good things of providence 
may be considered as having this 
inscription, Accijje, redde, cave; 
that is, Accept us as from God, 
return us in gratitude to God, 
and take care not to abuse us. — 
Baekee. 

We should follow Providence, 
and not attempt to force it; for 
that often proves best for us which 
was least our own doing, — Hexet. 



They distrust God's providence 
in their necessity, who are willing 
to foUow his guidance in their 
welfare. — Hall. 

We can be thankful to a friend 
for a few acres or a little money ; 
and yet for the freedom and com- 
mand of the whole earth, and for 
the great benefits of our being, 
our life, health, and reason, we 
look upon ourselves as under no 
obligation. — Sexeca. 

As A man may easily get a strain 
by overreaching, so we should not 
pry too curiously into Providence, 
lest we injure ourselves, as Asaph 
did respecting the afflictions of the 
godly and the prosperity of the 
wicked, (Psa, Ixxiii, 3-13,) when 
it brought him into envy and al- 
most despair, and made Job (xlii, 
3) speak unadvisedly. — Flavel. 

If the extent of the human view 
could comprehend the whole frame 
of the universe, perhaps it would 
be found invariably true that Prov- 
idence has given that in greatest 
plenty which the condition of life 
makes of the greafiest use; and 
that nothing is pefiuriously im- 
parted, or placed far from the reach 
of men, of which a more liberal 
distribution, or more easy acquisi- 
tion, would increase real and ra- 
tional felicity. — Johnson. 

"When Bernard Gilpin was on 
his way to London to be tried be- 
fore the popish party he broke his 
leg by a fall, which put a stop for 



PROVIDEXCE — rRUDEXCE- QUALITIES 



227 



some time to liis journey. The 
person in whose custody he Avas 
took occasion to retort upon Lira 
an observation he used frequently 
to make, "nothing happens to the 
people of God but what is intend- 
ed for their good," asking him 
"whether he thought his broken 
leg was so ?" He answered meek- 
ly, "he made no question but it 
was." And so it proved ; for be- 
fore he was able to travel, Queen 
Mary died. Being thus provi- 
dentially rescued, he returned to 
Houghton through crowds of peo- 
ple, expressing the utmost joy, and 
blessing God for his deliverance. 

"Who can trace the dispensations 
of Providence, that takes away the 
most desirable and shining charac- 
ters in the midst of their useful- 
ness and in the prime of life; 
while the wicked and worthless 
are permitted to live, and seem- 
ingly for no other purpose than 
by their vile example to spread 
contagion and death ? Yet surely 
it must be acknowledged, that 
while the righteous are the great- 
est blessing the earth can enjoy, 
by our sinfulness we forfeit our 
mercies, and in judgment he de- 
prives us of them ; while the wick- 
ed, who are our greatest curse, in 
deserved wrath he permits still to 
exist as an evil blight. — R. Hill. 



Peodexce is a universal virtue, 
and enters into the composition of 



almost all the rest; fur without it 
love is indiscreet, fortitude weak, 
zeal blind, and knowledge almost 
useless. — Voituee. 

Peudexce has two offices, to 
inform the understanding and 
regulate the will. She determines 
both on maxims of speculation 
and practice, and keeps the mind 
upon its guard against prejudice 
and precipitation. Though for- 
tune seems to be a universal mis- 
tress, yet prudence is her's; and 
when we are guided by her we 
are surrounded by all other bless- 
ings. Prudence does not only 
show itself in words, but in all the 
circumstances of life, and is like an 
under agent of Providence, to guide 
and direct us in all our concerns. 
There are many more shining qual- 
ities in the mind of man, but there 
is none so useful as prudence; it 
is this which gives a value to all 
the rest, which sets them to work 
in their proper times and places, 
and turns them to advantage. 
Without prudence learning is ped- 
antry, zeal rashness, and even vir- 
tue weak and almost useless. 

Let prudence always attend your 
pleasures; it is the way to enjoy 
the sweets of them, and not be 
afraid of the consequences. 



It is not sufficient to have great 
qualities ; we must be able to make 
use of them. — La RocriEFOucAULD. 



228 



QUARRELS — RE ADIXG — REASON. 



Through the mist of contro- 
versy it can raise no wonder that 
the truth is not easily discovered. 
When a quarrel has been long car- 
ried on between individuals, it is 
often very hard to tell by whom 
it was begun. Every fact is dark- 
ened by distance, by interest, and 
by multitudes. Information is not 
easily procured from far ; those 
whom the truth will not favor 
will not step voluntarily forth to 
tell it; and where there are not 
many agents it is easy for every 
single action to be concealed. — 
Johnson. 

QuAEEELS would not last long 
if the fault was only on one side. 
— La Rochefoucauld. 

QuAEEELS about religion are of 
all others the most implacable. 
We were made to have dealings 
one with another ; nor may we 
deny the offices of humanity, char- 
ity, and common civility ; nor will 
worshiping at different temples al- 
low us to be morose, unnatural, 
scornful, and censorious, under the 
color of zeal for religion; which, 
if we are, though our religion may 
be true, we are not truly religious. 
— Hexey. 

He that blows the coals in 
quarrels he has nothing to do 
with, has no right to complain 
if the sparks tiy in his face. — 
Franklin. 



In the course of our reading we 
should lay up in our minds a store 
of goodly thoughts in well-wrought 
words, which should be a living 
treasure of knowledge always with 
us, and from which at various times, 
and amid all the shifting of circum- 
stances, we might be sure of draw- 
ing some comfort, guidance, and 
sympathy. — Feiends in Council. 

By reading, we enjoy the dead ; 
by conversation, the living ; and by 
contemplation, ourselves. Reading 
enriches the memory, conversation 
polishes the wit, and contempla- 
tion improves the judgment. Of 
these, reading is the most import- 
ant, as it furnishes both the others. 

COLTON. 

Impeint the beauties of authors 
upon your imagination, and their 
good morals upon your heart. 

If the riches of the Indies, or 
the crowns of all the kingdoms of 
Europe were laid at my feet in 
exchange for my love of reading, 
I would spurn them all. — Fenelon. 



ge; 



Polished steel will not shine in 
the dark. No more can reason, 
however refined or cultivated, 
shine efficaciously but as it re- 
flects the light of divine truth 
shed from heaven. — Foster. 



REASOX — RECONCILIATIOX — REDEMPTIOX. 



229 



He is not a reasonable man who 
by chance stumbles upon reason ; 
but he who derives it from knowl- 
edge, tVora discernment, and from 
taste. — La Rochefoucauld. 

Reasox pursued is faith ; and un- 

pursued 
Where proof invites, 'tis reason, 

then, no more. Young. 

Reason's a taper which but faintly 

burns ; 
A languid flame that glows and 

dies by turns. Pomfret. 

Although reason, since the fall, 
is greatly depraved, and therefore 
insufficient of itself to guide us to 
G-od, and although it is often er- 
roneous in temporal aifairs, yet it 
is still a noble faculty, and very 
useful in the following particulars : 
First, to judge of the general prin- 
ciples of natural religion as the 
being and natural perfections of 
God, his providence, and the ne- 
cessity of worshiping him, together 
with the propriety of virtue, and 
the probability of a future state of 
rewards and punishments. Sec- 
ondly, to judge of the evidences of 
revealed religion and the contents 
of it, so far as within its reach ; 
thus, for instance, reason not only 
points out the expediency of a 
revelation, but can examine that 
which professes to come from God, 
whether it bears the marks of cred- 
ibility or not ; and if it should find 
it true, so far then reason can de- 
termine whether the general con- 



tents of it are agreeable to natural 
religion, and how far it is superior 
with respect to promoting the 
piety and happiness of mankind. 
Thirdly, it is of great use in all 
the arts and sciences, and mental 
improvement in general. Lastly, 
it is of manifest advantage in all 
the common concerns of life, to 
guard us against injuries, errors, 
and prejudices, and to direct us, 
in subservience to revelation, in 
all our conduct, both private and 
public. In all these respects, and 
perhaps in many more, reason is 
highly beneficial, and especially 
when accompanied with grace. — 

WiLMOT. 



If thou hast wronged thy broth- 
er in thought, reconcile thee to 
him in thought. If thou hast of- 
fended him in words, let thy rec- 
onciliation be in words. If thou 
hast trespassed against him in 
deeds, by deeds be reconciled to 
him. That reconciliation is most 
kindly which is most in kind. — 

QUAULES. 



In creation and providence God 
is above us; but in redemption 
he is God with us. 



If the goodness of God is so ad- 
mirably seen in the works of na- 
ture and the favors of Providence, 



230 EEDEMPTIOX — REFINEMENT— EEGEXERATION. 



with what a superiority does it 
evea triumph in the work of re- 
demption! Redemption is the 
brightest mirror in which to con- 
tempLate the mercy of our cove- 
nant God ; other gifts are only as 
mites from the divine treasury, 
but redemption opens (I had al- 
most said exhausts) all the stores 
of his glorious grace. Redemp- 
tion by Christ is a preservative 
from all terror, and an antidote 
against every evil; when by the 
Holy Spirit this redemption is ap- 
plied in justification and regener- 
ation sin is done away, God is 
visibly our father and friend, his 
promises are our portion, and his 
arm is our defense. In redemp- 
tion God not only commends 
and manifests his love, but makes 
it perfectly marvelous in so stu- 
pendous a manner, that it is be- 
yond parallel, beyond thought, and 
above all blessings and praises. — 
Hervey. ' 

God the Son, as our perfect Re- 
deemer and Saviour, so completely 
finished the work which the Father 
sent him to do, that were he to 
visit our world a thousand times, 
he would never be able to add to 
his glorious redemption. — R, Hill, 



^efiixement. 



The more refined and elevated 
men are, the more sensitive are 
they, the more is expected from 
them. A thing that you would 



pass without notice in a low, ig- 
norant person, you would expect 
and demand apology for in a per- 
son higher on the social plane. 
Man, as well as God, exacts from 
man according to that which he 
hath. — H. W. Beechee. 

Too GEEAT refinement is false 
delicacy, and true delicacy is solid 
refinement. — La. Rochefoucauld. 



No EEAL good can be expected 
where the ground-work of relig- 
ion is wanting — regeneration. As 
well may you pretend to know 
what were the real transactions 
of life before you were born, as to 
know anything of real religion, 
which is nothing less than tlie life 
of God in the souls of men, till 
after you are born again. By that 
alone we feel sin to be hateful. — 
R. Hill. 

.The difiiculties in regenerating 
a sinner's heart consist chiefly in 
conquering the strongest preju- 
dices, mortifying tlie most corrupt 
habits, and in the implanting of a 
principle of grace and holiness, to 
which the sinner is by nature en- 
tirely averse, and in opposition to 
which Satan, who maintains the 
throne in his heart, uses his ut- 
most endeavors. There is a great- 
er distance between the terms sin 
and holiness, corruption and grace, 
than between tliose of something 



REGEXERATION— RELIGION. 



231 



and nothing. In creation some- 
thing is formed out of nothing, bnt 
in regeneration (as one strongly 
expresses it) hell is changed into 
heaven. In creation there is no 
assistance, but then there is no 
opposition ; but regeneration is 
like the stemming of a rapid 
stream, and turning it into a con- 
trary course, in Avhich there is 
nothing to help, but everything to 
hinder. — Lime-steeet Seemoxs. 

Regeneeatiox — a change that 
never fails to fill heaven with rap- 
ture, though ridiculed upon earth. 

SiMMOXS. 



It will cost something to be re- 
ligious; it wiU cost more not to be 
so. — Masox. 

Religion would have no ene- 
mies, if it were not an enemy to 
vice. — Massillox. 

It signifies nothing to say we 
will not change our religion, if 
our religion does not change us. 
— Masox. 

Religiox is as necessary to rea- 
son, as reason is to religion: the 
one cannot exist without the oth- 
er. A reasoning being would lose 
his reason in attempting to account 
for the great phenomena of nature, 
had he not a Supreme Being to 
refer to. If there had been no 



God, mankind would have been 
obliged to imagine one. — Wash- 

IXGTOX. 

The Word of God proves the 
truth of religion ; the corruption 
of man its necessity ; government 
its advantages. — Staxislaus. 

The pleasures of sense will sur- 
feit and not satisfy ; but the pleas- 
ures of religion will satisfy and not 
surfeit. — Hexry. 

Those fruits that run up very 
much into leaves and stalks, some- 
times die at the root; so some 
men's religion runs up all into talk 
and profession. — Barkee, 

Three is no opposition whereof 
we are so sensible as that of relig- 
ion. — Hall. 

The true religion teaches our 
duties, our impotences, (pride and 
concupiscence,) and the remedies, 
(humility, mortification.)— Pascal. 

While just government protects 
all in their religious rites, true re- 
ligion afiords government its surest 
support. — Washixgtox. 

Teue religion is nothing less 
than the power or intiuence of 
God himself on the heart. — R. 

IIlLL. 

NoTHixG but religion is capable 
of changing pains into pleasures. 
— Staxislaus. 



232 



RELIGION. 



Religion is the best armor in 
the world, but the worst cloak. — 
Newton. 

A MERE profession of religion is 
generally very hard to hold. It is 
like a lamp that is iiardly lighted, 
which & small breath of wind will 
extinguish ; or like a tree newly 
planted^ which is easily overturned. 
— Dk, Witiieespoon. 

Upon Nero being the first of 
all the Cesars that persecuted the 
Christian religion in its birth, Ter- 
tuillian says : '' 'Tis our glory that 
such a man began to condemn us, 
for he that knows anything of 
Nero will easily judge that he 
could only condemn what was ex- 
cellent and infinitely valuable. 

"VVe should begin early with God, 
and so improve our morning time. 
The sooner we begin a religious 
life, the more pleasant it will be ; 
it is best traveling pretty early in 
the morning. — Heney. 

Did we but duly consider that 
we are hastening, as fast as time 
can carry us, to that judgment- 
seat where the shadows of the 
world shall be eternally forgotten, 
we should regard that man as the 
wisest who contends most earn- 
estly for the substance of religion. 
— R. Hill. 

Religion will always make the 
bitter waters of Marah wholesome 
and palatable; but we must not 



think it continually will turn wa- 
ter into wine because it once did. 
— Waebdeton. 

"My burden is light," said the 
blessed Redeemer. A light bur- 
den, indeed, which carries him 
that bears it. I have looked 
through all nature for a resem- 
blance of this, and I seem to find 
a shadow of it in the wings of a 
bird, which are indeed borne by 
the creature, and yet support her 
fliglit toward heaven. — Beknaed. 

If thou and true religion be not 
yet met, or met unknown, by these 
marks thou shalt discover it: First, 
it is a religion that takes no pleas- 
ure in tlie expense of blood. Sec- 
ondly, it is a religion whose tenets 
cross not the Book of Truth. Third- 
ly, it is a religion that takes most 
from the creature, and gives most 
to the Creator. If such a one 
thou meet with, assure thyself it 
is the right, and therefore profess 
it in thy life, and protect it to thy 
death. — Quaeles. 

The pious man and the atheist 
always talk of religion : the one 
speaks of what he loves, and the 
other of what he fears.* — Montes- 
quieu. 

While many are disputing about 
religion, let me enjoy it. 

Religion is so far from barring 
men any innocent pleasure or com- 
fort of human life, that it purifies 



RELIGION. 



233 



the pleasures of it, and renders 
them more grateful and generous ; 
and besides this, it brings miglitj 
pletisures of its own, tliose of a 
glorious hope, a serene mind, a 
calm and undisturbed conscience, 
which do far outrelish the most 
studied and artificial luxuries. — 
Dean Ship.ley. 

The Christian religion is one 
that diffuses among the people a 
pure, benevolent, and universal 
system of ethics, adapted to every 
condition of life, and recommend- 
ed as the will and reason of the 
Supreme Deity, and enforced by 
sanctions of eternal punishment. — 

GiBBOX. 

The object of religion is no less 
than the great God himself, and 
that both in his nature and his 
works. For the eye of reason, 
like that of the eagle, directs it- 
self chiefly to the sun, to a glory 
that neither admits of a superior 
nor an equal. Religion carries the 
soul to the study of every divine 
attribute. Her ways are ways of 
pleasantness, and all her paths are 
peace. — South. 

The word religion is derived 
from religando^ which signifies to 
tie or bind, because by true relig- 
ion the souls of good persons are 
tied or fastened, as it were, to 
God and his service. But we 
must not maintain, as some un- 
converted persons do, that we 
may be saved by any religion, if 
we live up to the principles of it, 



We do not limit the holy one of 
Israel as to the heathens who have 
not had the Gospel; but as for 
those who embrace Christianity, 
and can read the Bible and hear 
the Gospel, and yet reject the pre- 
cious Gospel, because they were 
not bred up in the habit of hear- 
ing it, or from any other motive, 
we think their state is awful and 
very dangerous. — Dr. Areow- 

SMITH. 

The spirit of true religion 
breathes gentleness and aifability : 
it gives a native, unatfected ease 
to the behavior ; it is social, kind, 
and cheerful; far removed from 
the cloudy and illiberal disposi- 
tion which clouds the brow, sharp- 
ens the temper, and dejects the 
spirit. Religion is rather a mat- 
ter of sentiment than reasoning; 
the important articles of faith are 
plain, and all books and conversa- 
tion that tend to shake our faith 
in those great points of religion 
should be avoided. Real religion 
prepares us for all the events of 
this inconstant state ; it weans us 
from an undue love of the world, 
and equips us for the storm in this 
dubious navigation of life. Thus 
true religion fortifies as well as 
purifies, so that a religious man 
has learned firmness and self-com- 
mand. His chief pleasures are al- 
ways of the innocent and temperate 
kind, and over these the clianges 
of the world have but little power; 
his mind is a kingdom to him, and 
he can ever enjoy it. — Dr. Blair. 



234 



RELIGION". 



Eeligiox, in its purity, is not 
so much a pursuit as a temper; 
or rather it is a temper, leading to 
the pursuit of all that is high and 
holy. Its foundation is faith; its 
action, works; "its temper, holi- 
ness ; its aim, obedience to God in 
improvement of self, and benevo- 
lence to men. — Edwaeds. 

The humble, meek, merciful, 
just, pious, and devout souls are 
everywhere of one religion ; and 
when death has taken off the 
mask they will know one anoth- 
er, though the divers liveries 
they wear make them strangers, 
— Penist. 

How ADMIRABLE is that religion 
which, while it seems to have in 
view only the felicity of another 
world, is at the same time the 
highest happiness of this. — Mon- 

TESQUIECr. 

The time seems to be approach- 
ing when less will be thought of 
differences as to the forms of re- 
ligion. The dress of religion is 
one thing, and its substance an- 
other. I have heard of a person 
who wished to be dressed very 
line in his coffin ; but would that 
give him either life or animation? 
The Comforter is sent to us for 
the very purpose, that he may put 
spiritual life within us. We see 
the activity of real Christians 
when the activity of God is in 
them. The Spirit of the Lord is 
said to work in them mightily. 



when they are strengthened with 
all might by that Spirit in the in- 
ner inan. — E. Hill. 

What religion is that which is 
suited to the heart? Shall we 
find it among tlie heathen? Alas! 
some of the most abominable rites 
have been performed by them un- 
der the notion of religion. The 
odious corruption of the heart of 
man will scarcely suffer human 
beings to live among themselves. 
It is nothing but divine power 
from above that can make man a 
blessing to himself, and a blessing 
to those who surround him. — 

R. PIlLL. 

0]srE of the principal rules of 
religion is, to lose no occasion of 
serving God. And since he is in- 
visible to our eyes, we are to serve 
him in our neighbor; which he 
receives as if done to himself in 
person, standing visibly before us. 
— John "Wesley. 

Religion prohibits no amuse- 
ment or gratification that is really 
innocent. The question, however, 
of its innocence must not be tried 
by the loose maxims of worldly 
morality, but by the Bible, the 
genius of Christianity,, and the 
temper and disposition of mind 
enjoined on its professors. There 
can be no doubt concerning the 
true end of recreations; they are 
intended to refresh our exhausted 
bodily or mental powers, and to 
restore us with renewed vigor to 



RELIGIOK 



235 



the more serious occupations of 
life. Whatever therefore fatigues 
either the body or mind is not fit- 
ted for recreation ; whatever con- 
sumes more time or money than 
we can prudently allot for mere 
amusements is not right, as we are 
to give an account to the Lord 
how we spend our time and prop- 
erty; whatever directly or indi- 
rectly is likely to injure the welfare 
of a fellow-creature, is not a suita- 
ble recreation or consistent diver- 
sion for a Christian. But let us 
not wrong Providence as to sup- 
pose that the sources of innocent 
amusement are so rare, that men 
must be driven almost by con- 
straint to those of a doubtful na- 
ture. On the contrary, such has 
been the Creator's goodness that 
almost every one, by a prudent 
variation of useful pursuits, may 
have rich and multiplied springs 
of innocent relaxation ; the beau- 
ties of creation, the works of art, 
of taste and genius all lie open, 
and the Christian has not only all 
these for his rational amusement, 
but also spiritual pleasures, the 
sweets of friendship, the comforts 
of gratitude, joy, hope, universal 
good- will, and all the benevolent 
affections which, while they are 
connected with doing good to 
others, are likewise productive of 
peace and delight to ourselves. O 
how little do they know of the 
true measure of enjoyment, who 
can compare these delightful com- 
placencies with the frivolous pleas- 
ures of dissipation, or the coarse 



gratifications of sensuality ! — Wil- 

BEEFOECE. 

Whethee religion be true or 
false, it must be necessarily grant- 
ed to be the only wise principle 
and safe hypothesis for a man to 
live and die by. — Tillotsox. 

Political eminence and profes- 
sional fame fade and die with all 
things earthly. Nothing of char- 
acter is really permanent but vir- 
tue and personal worth. These 
remain. Whatever of excellence 
is wrought into the soul itself be- 
longs to both worlds. Real good- 
ness does not attach itself merely 
to life ; it points to another world. 
Political and professional fame can- 
not last forever, but a conscience 
void of offense before God and 
man is an inheritance for eternity. 
Religion, therefore, is a necessary, 
an indispensable element in any 
great human character. There is 
no living without it. Religion is 
the tie that connects man with 
his Creator, and holds him to his 
throne. If that tie is sundered or 
broken, he floats away a worth- 
less atom in the universe, its prop- 
er attractions all gone, its destiny 
thwarted, and its whole future 
nothing but darkness, desolation, 
and death. A man with no sense 
of religious duty is he whom the 
Scriptures describe in so terse but 
terrific a manner, as "living with- 
out God in the world." Such a 
man is out of his proper being, out 
of the circle of all his duties, out 



236 



EELIGIOK 



of the circle of all his happiness, 
and away, far, far away from the 
purposes of his creation. — Daniel 
Webster. 

Eeligion being a personal con- 
cern and a matter of choice, no 
man can be justly blamed who, 
after a sincere, solemn, and delib- 
erate investigation, turns from the 
religion or denomination he was 
brought up in ; nor can a man be 
properly called unsteady who turns 
from that denomination wiiich he 
joined when he was young and 
inexperienced, or before he began 
to think for himself; but that man 
w^ho has joined several denomina- 
tions may be called fickle, espe- 
cially if he has done this in the 
course of a few years, and perhaps 
hastily, without proper inquiry. A 
person also may be called unsteady 
who either has joined no denomi- 
nation, but w^anders from one place 
of worship to another, or who, hav- 
ing given himself up to a particular 
church, is frequently leaving his 
place and going after new preach- 
ers. — S. Clarke. 

It seems an opinion pretty gen- 
erally prevalent, that kindness and 
sweetness of temper, sympathiz- 
ing, generous, and benevolent af- 
fections, attention to relative and 
social duties, and especially a life 
of general activity and usefulness, 
may make up for the defects of 
religion. It is true, indeed, that 
these are amiable and excellent 
qualities, and those who possess 



them have their reward by being 
beloved in private, and generally 
respected in public ; but when un- 
attended with real religion they 
are often only the properties of an 
assumed character, to answer cer- 
tain purposes, or to gain credit in 
the w^orld, and even sometimes a 
mask to conceal an opposite tem- 
per. But supposing that they are 
genuine, the moral worth of these 
sweet and benevolent tempers is 
apt to be overrated; at the very 
best they often only deserve the 
name of amiable instincts, instead 
of amiable tempers or moral vir- 
tues, because they are only the 
production of nature, and in many 
cases they imply no mental con- 
flicts; and they possess not that 
strength and energy of character, 
which, in contempt of dangers and 
difficulties, produce alacrity in 
service and perseverance in ac- 
tion. Their soft complying hu- 
mor shows that they are not free 
from selfishness, and therefore 
they are sometimes drawn in to 
participate in what is wrong, as 
well as to connive at it. Further 
still ; these qualities, when not 
grounded and rooted in religion, 
are of a sickly and short-lived na- 
ture, for disappointments, troubles, 
and contradictions will either to- 
tally destroy, or very much weaken 
them. But were the merit of these 
amiable qualities greater than it is, 
and though it w^ ere not liable to 
the exceptions that have been al- 
leged against it, yet they cannot 
in any degree be admitted as a 



llELIGIOy. 



237 



compensation for the want of the 
grace of God ; and where tliis es- 
sential requisite is wanting, how- 
ever amiable the character may 
be, however creditable and re- 
spectable among men, yet as it 
possesses not the distinguishing 
essence, it must not be mistaken 
for religion, and complimented 
with that name. — Wilberforce. 

The ways of religion are not 
only pleasant ways, but pleasant- 
ness itself in the abstract; and 
that pleasantness arises not from 
any foreign circumstancea, but 
from the innate goodness of the 
ways themselves. Think you hear 
wisdom saying, Call me not Marali, 
that is, bitterness, as some have 
miscalled me ; "but call me Naomi, 
pleasant. The Yiilgate Latin reads 
it vios piihhrcE : religions ways are 
beautiful ways, w%"sys of sweetness; 
so the Chaldee. In the ways of 
real religion there is prolit and 
pleasure twisted. Tl:iose who in- 
dulge themselves in the pleasures 
of the world must be content niot 
to get money, but to spend it ; but 
in those of T^Yigion a man may 
enjoy, get, and save. There are 
three reasons why some professors 
are not so cheerful as they should 
be : first, some are looking for that 
in the world which is to be had in 
God only, and that is perfect sat- 
isfaction ; secondly, many are look- 
ing for that in themselves which 
is to be had in Christ only, and 
that is a perfect righteousness ; 
and thirdly, others are looking for 



that on earth which is to be seen 
in heaven only, and that is perfect 
holiness. That may be right which 
is not pleasant, as self-denial and 
many other duties; and that may 
be i>leasant which is not right, as 
the ways of sin ; but true religion 
is both right and pleasant. The 
pleasures of sense are but shad- 
ows, or at best but painted or 
gilded over ; but tliivse of religion 
are substantial, and all pure gold. 
Cai'nal ]>ersons think that noisy 
[ mirth is cheerfulness, and tliere- 
I fore have recourse to jollity and 
[ loud la\ighter ; but these being 
ii violent are soon over, and are very 
[ different from true cheerful ness^ 
i which is a mild and regular habit 
\ of being easy and comfortable 
[ ourselves^ and by our looks and 
f behavior making our company 
1; pleasant to othei-s, — ^HE:srvY. 

i A ma:s who makes calculation 
I and provision for this life only, is 
like a sea-captain who, starting on 
a voyage to Europe, lays in pro- 
I visions sufficient to last him only 
I until he gets safe past the light- 
house, and out into the open sea. 
— H. W. Beecheh, 

The propitious smiles of Leaven 
can never be expected on a nation 
that disregards the eternal rules of 
order, which heaven itself has or- 
dained. ... Of all the dispositions 
and habits that lead to political 
prosperity, religion and morality 
are indispensable supports. In 
vain would that man claim the 



PwELIGION. 



tribute of patriotism who should 
labor to subvert these great pillars 
of human happiness, these firm 
props of the duties of men and 
of citizeas. The mere politician, 
equally with the pious man, ought 
to respect and cherish them. — 
Wasring.to'n, 

The men who walk in lonely 
places, thinking only of God and 
the angels, are. not the most relia- 
ble Christians, are not the bone 
and sinew of the Church. This 
has been proved throughout the 
ages. Any such thought of the 
thuigs unseen and eternal, as shall 
unfit a man for his daily secular 
duties, or teach him to despise 
them, is wrong thought, and 
should be discarded. Religion 
underlies all things. It is in- 
tended to fit a man for life, to 
teach him how to carry himself in 
his business, his ple^isures, and his 
pains, as much as to aid him when 
he dies. It was not meant to lift 
him out of, or beyond, the com- 
mon work or wants of life until 
life is passed. — H. W. Beeohee, 



There are men Avho delight to 
see evil in those professing godli- 
ness. They doubt, they leer, they 
jeer, Well, there are birds ap- 
pointed to seek for carrion, and 
they always find it. By their 
very seeking they declare their 



own nature. Don't you imitate 
their dirty flight. They are of the 
carrion family. — H. W. Beechek. 



TieuLY, 'tis a wise piece of busi- 
ness for a man, hanging by no 
more than a single hair over the 
bottomless pit, to say to the friend 
who throv/s him a stout rope, 
"Wait, I must consider calmly of 
this ; I don't believe in being in a 
hurry." There are some cases 
where consideration is crime, where 
deliberation is death. Unutterable 
fools! that think, and think, and 
only think, upon the borders of 
perdition. The sands beneath 
their feet are crumbling and shift- 
ing away; but they must think, 
they say, when one calls to them 
to run. And so they pause and 
perish, — H. W. Beechek, 



Repextange is the heart's sorrow. 
And a clear life ensuing, 

Shakspeare. 

It is not so easy nor so common 
a thing to repent and believe as 
ignorant, presumptuous sinners do 
imagine. By the time you have 
learned wliat is needful to be 
learned for a sound repentance, a 
saving faith, and a holy life, you 
will find that you have far greater 



REPENTANCE. 



239 



business with God than with all 
the world. — Baxtek. 

There is a greater depravity in 
not repenting of sin when it has 
been committed, than in commit- 
ting it at first. To deny, as Peter 
did, is bad ; but not to weep bit- 
terly, as he did, when we have 
denied, is worse. — Patsox. 

PcEPEXTAXCE is the key that un- 
locks the gate wherein sin keeps a 
man a prisoner. It is the aqua 
vlt(B to fetch .again to itself the 
fainting soul. — Feltham. 

If repentance be genuine, it 
will drive us from sin to Christ ; 
and the Bible reveals no other 
salvation but through him. As 
prisoners can never open their 
prison doors by the deepest re- 
pentance for their crimes, so no 
acquittal from the guilt of our 
sins can ever be obtained but 
through the sufferings and death 
of Christ, who opens the prison 
doors to them that are fast tied 
and bound with the chains of their 
sins. — R. Hill. 

"I WILL arise and go to my 
father." He who said, ""I will 
arise," was down ; he owned his 
fall, and was sensible of his bad 
condition. "I will arise and go 
to my father." What reason have 
you to hope that you shall be well 
received? What right have you 
to expect a kind reception? I 
have no otlier reason and no other 

16 



right but because he is my father. 
I have lost all the pretenses and 
all the privileges of a son, but he 
has lost nothing of the goodness 
and tenderness of a father. — St. 
Cheysologue. 

Repextance is not like the 
summer fruit, fit to be taken a 
little, and in their own time ; it is 
like bread, the provision and sup- 
port of life, the entertainment of 
every day. But it is the bread of 
affliction to some, and the bread 
of carefulness to all, and he that 
preaches this with the greatest 
severity, it may be, takes the lib- 
erty of an enemy, but he gives 
the counsel and the assistance of a 
friend. — Sibbs. 

Repextaxce, if genuine, is not 
the passing sorrow of the day, but 
the real feeling and habit of the 
heart. The original expression 
means just as much; it is the re- 
newal of the mind into the very 
image of God. It creates within 
us an abhorrence of that which is 
evil, and a cleaving to that which 
is good, and can only be known 
by its fruits. — R. Hill. 

What pardon does that man 
deserve who in the person of John 
cruelly murdered repentance itself. 
Ah ! Herod, whom Herodias re- 
sembles in crime more than in 
name, you foolishly thought to 
stop the mouth of the holy 
prophet by cutting off his head. 
"I am the voice," says he, ''of 



240 



REPENTANCE. 



one crying in the wilderness.'" 
Death can do nothing to the voice ; 
this being freed from the prison of 
the body that confined it cries the 
louder, like the voice of Abel, 
which was heard the more, and 
went even to heaven, after the 
earth was stained with his blood, 
Thus John Baptist makes himself 
heard by all the universe, and 
tells and publishes your crime to 
all ages, and to all people. — St. 
Cheysologue. 

Repextance hath a purifying 
power, and every tear is of a 
cleansing virtue. But these peni- 
tential clouds must be still kept 
dropping. One shower will not 
suffice. For repentance is not one 
single action, but a course. — 
South. 

A TRUE repentance slmns the evil 

itself, 
More than the external suffering 

or the shame. 

Shakspeaee. 

Some may think it a sad thing 
to repent on earth, but it is much 
worse to repent in hell. In 
heaven holiness is their eternal 
temper, and happiness their eter- 
nal portion. In hell sin is their ev- 
erlasting temper, and misery their 
everlasting portion. The reason 
why so many fall into hell is be- 
cause so few think of it. They that 
will not fear the punishment in the 
threatening shall feel the threat- 
ening in the punishment. The 



scorner's seat stands nest hell 
gate. They fall deepest into eter- 
nal torments who fall backward 
into hell. When we die we must 
fall into the arms of Christ or into 
the flames of hell. — J. Masox. 

What multitudes there are who 
harden their hearts under a pre- 
sumption that repentance is with- 
in the reach of their own call ! As 
they naturally hate the work, 
they think it is quite enough to 
turn to God when they can 
scarcely turn themselves in their 
beds. Thus they presume upon 
the mercy of God, that they may 
trample on his justice, and never 
think of escaping the wrath of 
God till the very gates of hell 
seem opening before them. 

Rabbi Eliezer said, "Turn to 
God one day before your death." 
His disciples said, "How can a 
man know the day of his death ?" 
He answered them, "Then you 
should turn to God to-day; per- 
liaps you may die to-morrow;" 
thus every day will be employed 
in returning. 

Repentaxce is a liearty sorrow 
for our past misdeeds, and a sin- 
cere resolution and endeavor to 
the utmost of our power to con- 
form all our actions to the law of 
God. So that repentance does not 
consist in one single act of sorrow, 
though that, being the first and 
leading act, gives denomination to 
the Avhole, but in doing works 



REPEXTAXCE. 



241 



7neet for repentance, in a sincere 
obedience to the law of Christ for 
the remainder of our lives. — 
Locke. 

The completion and sum of re- 
pentance is a change of life. That 
soiTow which dictates no caution, 
that fear which does not qnicken 
onr escape, that austerity which 
fails to rectify our affections, are 
vain and unavailing. But sorrow 
and terror must naturally precede 
reformation ; for what other cause 
can produce it ? He, therefore, 
that feels himself alarmed by his 
conscience, anxious for the attain- 
ment of a better state, and afflicted 
by the memory of his past faults, 
may jnstly conclude that the great 
work of repentance is begun, and 
hope, by retirement and prayer, 
the natural and religious means of 
strengthening his conviction, to 
impress upon his mind such a 
sense of the divine presence as 
may overpower the blandishments 
of secular delights, and enable him 
to advance from- one degree of 
holiness to anotlier till death shall 
set him free from doubt and con- 
test, misery and temptation. 

It is remarkable that repentance 
was tlie first subject that John the 
Baptist, Christ, and his apostles 
preached on, and from this we 
learn the great necessity of it ; and 
as they publicly addressed all 
sorts of persons, we see that every 
one stands in need of it. Many 
are the mistakes concerning re- 



pentance. Some think it con- 
sists only in general confessions 
of sin, and others in a partial ref- 
ormation; but this falls short of 
true repentance, which consists, 
first, in a true conviction of sin, 
and our being liable to eternal 
punishment. Second, such a con- 
trition or sorrow for sin as makes 
the sinner hate sin for its own na- 
ture, as well as its consequences. 
Third, a renunciation of all kinds 
of sin ; and fourth, an habitual 
practice of evangelical, holiness by 
faith in Christ. Thus the true 
penitent is fully convinced in his 
judgment of the abominable nature 
of sin, by beholding it in the glass 
of the moral law and the sufifer- 
ings of Christ. He feels the great- 
est grief of heart for having so 
much oflFended so holy and gra- 
cious a God, and he not only 
renounces the constant practice of 
sin, but, by the assistance of the 
Ploly Spirit, he endeavors to follow 
the Lord fully in all holy obedience 
to his blessed will. — Hekvey. 

Repextaxce begins in the hu- 
miliation of the heart, and ends in 
the reformation of the life. Though 
we want power to repent, yet we 
do not want means to repent, nor 
power to use those means. You 
cannot repent too soon. There is 
no day like to-day. Yesterday is 
gone ; to-morrow is God's, not 
your own. And think how sad it 
will be to have your evidences to 
seek Avhen your cause is to be 
tried, to have your oil to buy wlien 



242 



EEPEXTAIS^CE — REPUTATION. 



you should have it to burn. If 
we put off our repentance to 
another day, we have the sins of 
another day to repent of, and a 
day less to repent in. He that 
repents of sin as sin, doth implic- 
itly repent of all sin. — J. Masox. 

Teue repentance consists in the 
heart being broken for sin and 
broken from sin. Some often 
repent yet never reform ; they re- 
semble a man traveling in a dan- 
gerous path, who frequently starts 
and stops, but never turns back. — 
Thoextox. 

He that waits for repentance 
waits for that which cannot be 
had as long as it is waited for. It 
is absurd for a man to wait for 
that which he himself has to do. — 
jSTevixs. 

"Whatevee stress some may lay 
upon it, a death-bed repentance is 
but a weak and slender plank to 
trust our all upon. — Steexe. 

AxTiioLOGY is the way to the- 
ology. Fntil thou seest thyself 
empty thou wilt not desire to be 
filled. He can never truly relish 
the sweetness of God's mercy 
that never tasted the bitterness of 
his own misery. — Quaeles. 



A FAiE reputation is a plant 
delicate in its nature, and by no 
means rapid in its growth. It 



will not shoot up in a night, like 
the gourd of the prophet, but like 
that gourd it may perish in a 
night. — Tatloe. 

The purest treasure mortal times 

afford 
Is spotless reputation; that away. 
Men are but gilded loam, or 

painted clay. 

Shakspeaee. 

The two most precious things 
this side the grave are our reputa- 
tion and our life. But it is to be 
lamented that the most contempt- 
ible whisper may deprive us of the 
one, and the weakest weapon of 
the other. A wise man, therefore, 
will be more anxious to deserve a 
fair name than to possess it, and 
this will teach him so to live as 
not to be afraid to die. — Coltox. 

Eegaed your good name as the 
richest jewel you can possibly be 
possessed of, for credit is hke fire, 
when once you have kindled it 
you may easily preserve it ; but if 
you once extinguish it, you will 
find it an arduous task to rekindle 
it again. — East Guide. 

Good name, in man and woman. 
Is the immediate jewel of their 

souls. 
Who steals my purse steals trash ; 

'tis something, nothing ; 
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been 

slave to thousands : 
But he that filches from me my 

good name 



EESIG^ATION"— EESOLUTIOX. 



243 



Rubs me of that "syliicli ne'er 

enriches hiin, 
AikI makes me poor indeed. 

Shakspeaee. 



The readiest way to escape from 
our sufferings is to be willing they 
should endure as long as God 
pleases. — John "Wesley. 

If God hath sent thee a cross, 
take it up and follow him. Use 
it wisely, lest it be unprofitable. 
Bear it patiently, lest it be intol- 
erable. Behold in it God's anger 
against sin, and his love toward 
thee, in punishing the one and 
chastening the other. If it be 
light, slight it not ; if heavy, mur- 
mur not. ISTot to be sensible of a 
judgment is the symptom of a 
hardened heart; and to be dis- 
pleased at his displeasure is a sign 
of a rebellious will. — Exchieidion. 

If any hard affliction hath sur- 
prised thee, cast one eye upon the 
hand that sent it, and the other 
upon the sin that brought it. If 
thou thankfully receive the mes- 
sage, he that sent it will discharge 
the messenger. — Quaeles. 

OuE losses are not irreparable 
if he who decrees them becomes 
more abundantly the portion of 
our hearts ; nor yet severe, if we 
can believe that the darkest prov- 
idence has a brighter side than the 
eye of sense can discern. Holy 



serenity of mind is no proof of 
apathy and unfeeling indifference, 
but rather of a dignified and sub- 
missive calmness, before Him who 
doeth all things well. — R. Hill. 

We are to bear with those we 
cannot amend, and to be content 
with offering them to God. This 
is true resignation. And since he 
has borne our infirmities, we may 
well bear those of each other for 
his sake. 



'§itBolxxtxmh 



Eesolutiox without action is a 
slothful folly ; action without reso- 
lution is a foolish rashness. First 
know what is good to be done, 
then do that good, being known. 
If forecast be not better than 
labor, labor is not good witiiout 
forecast. I would not have my 
actions done without knowledge, 
nor against it. — Waewiok. 

"Resolution," says John Fos- 
ter, "is omnipotent." He that 
resolves upon any great, and at 
the same time good end, by that 
very resolution has scaled the 
chief barrier to it. He will find 
it removing difficulties, searching 
out or making means, giving cour- 
age for despondency, and strength 
for weakness, and like the star in 
the east to the wise men of old, 
ever guiding him nearer and 
nearer to the sum of all perfec- 
tion. — T. Edwaeds. 



2M 



EESOLUTIOX— EEST. 



The greatest man is lie wlio 
chooses the right with invincible 
resolution ; who resists the sorest 
temptations from within and with- 
out ; who bears the heaviest bur- 
dens cheerfully ; who is calmest in 
storms, and most fearless under 
menace and frowns; and whose 
reliance on truth, on virtue, and 
on God, is most unfaltering. — 

ChAIOsTIXG. 



^cst. 



EestI how sweet the sound! 
It is melody to my ears! It lies 
as a reviving cordial at my heart, 
and from thence sends forth lively 
spirits which beat through aU the 
pulses of my soul. Eest ! not as 
the stone that rests on the earth, 
nor as the flesh shaU rest in the 
grave, nor such a rest as the car- 
nal world desires. blessed rest ! 
when we " rest not day nor night, 
saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord 
God Almighty!" When we shall 
rest from sin, but not from wor- 
ship; from suffering and sorrow, 
but not from joy. O blessed day! 
when I shall rest with God ! when 
I shall rest in the bosom of my 
Lord ! When I shall rest in know- 
ing, loving, rejoicing, and praising! 
"When my perfect soul and body 
shall together perfectly enjoy the 
most perfect God! When God, 
who is love itself, shall perfectly 
love me, and rest in his love to 
me, as I shall rest in my love to 
him ; and rejoice over me with 



joy, and joy over me with singing, 
as I shall rejoice in him! There 
I shall be encircled with eternity, 
and ever, ever praise the Lord. 
My face will not wrinkle, nor my 
hair be gray, for this incorrupti- 
ble shaU have put on incorruption, 
and this mortal immortality, and 
death shall be swallowed up in 
victory. The date of my lease 
shall no more expire, nor shall I 
more trouble myself with thoughts 
of death, nor lose my joys through 
fear of losing them. When mill- 
ions of ages are passed, my glory 
is but beginning; and millions 
more are passed, it is no nearer 
ending. Every day is all noon, 
every month is harvest, every 
year is a jubilee, every age is full 
manhood, and all this is one eter- 
nity. — Baxter. 

Eest unto our souls ! 'tis all we 
want, the end of all our v.'islies 
and pursuits. Give us a prospect 
of this, we take the wings of the 
morning and fly to the uttermost 
parts of the earth to have it in 
possession. We seek for it in 
titles, in riches and pleasures; 
climb up after it by ambition; 
come down again and stoop for it 
by avarice; try all extremes; 
still we are gone out of the way, 
nor is it till after many miserable 
experiments that we are convinced 
at last we have been seeking 
everywhere for it but where there 
is a prospect of finding it, and that is 
within ourselves.in ameek and low- 
ly disposition of heart. — Sterne. 



EESURP.ECTIOX — REVEXGE. 



245 



§lesitrmtion. 

As FOE the resurrection of the 
dead, I do not conceive it so very 
contrary to the analogy when I 
heliold vegetables left to rot in 
the earth rise np again with new 
life and vigor ; or a worm, to all 
appearance dead, change its na- 
ture, and that which in its first 
being crawled on the earth, be- 
come a new species, and fly abroad 
with Avings. — Bekkeley. 

It is the lot of many good men 
to be mistaken and reproached, 
not only by the vile, but by 
the conscientious. However, this 
should comfort them, that there 
will be a resurrection of names 
and characters, as well as of bod- 
ies. — Hexry. 

Whex I see the heavenly sun 
buried under earth in the evening 
of the day, and in the morning to 
find a resurrection to his glory. 
Why, think I, may not the sons of 
heaven, buried in the earth, in the 
evening of their days, expect the 
morning of their glorious resur- 
rection? Each night is but the 
past day's funeral, and the morn- 
ing his resurrection ; why, then, 
should our funeral sleep be other 
than our sleep at night? Why 
should we not as well awake 
to our resurrection as in the 
morning? I see night is rather 
an intermission of day than a 
deprivation, and death rather bor- 
rows our life of us than robs us of 



it. Since, then, the glory of the 
sun finds a resurrection, why 
should not the sons of glory? — 
Warwick. 



Eebettgt 

To DO another man a diskind- 
ness merely because he has done 
me one serves to no good purpose 
and to many evil ones, for it con- 
tributes nothing to the reparation 
of the first injury, it being unpos- 
sible that the act of my wrong 
should be rescinded, though the 
permanent effect may ; but, instead 
of making up the breach of my 
happiness, it increases the objects 
of my pity, by bringing a new 
misery into the world more than 
was before, and occasions fresh 
returns of malice, one beget- 
ting another, like the encirclings 
of disturbed water, till the evil 
becomes fruitful and multiplies 
into a long succession, a genealogy 
of mischiefs. — Naeeis of Bemee- 



To RETURN one injury with an- 
other is to revenge like a man ; 
but to revenge like God is to love 
even our enemies. — St. Patjlix. 

No REVENGE is more heroic than 
that which torments envy by do- 
ing good. 

If you be affronted, it is better 
to pass it by in silence, or with a 
jest, though with some dishonor, 
than to revenge it. If you can 



246 



EEVEXGE— RICHES. 



keep reason above passion, that 
and watchfulness will be your 
best defense. — Sir I. Newton. 

He that studieth revenge keep- 
eth his own wounds open. — 
Bacon. 

Revenge, at first though sweet, 
Bitter, ere long, back on itself 
recoils. Milton. 

Revenge dwells in little minds. 

Revenge commonly hurts both 
the offerer and sufferer; as we see 
in the foolish bee — though in all 
other things commendable, yet 
herein the pattern of fond spiteful- 
ness — which in her anger enven- 
ometh the flesh and loseth her 
sting, and so lives a drone ever 
after. I account it the only valor 
to remit a wrong; and will ap- 
plaud it to myself as right noble 
and Christian, that I might hurt 
and will not. — Hall. 

He that hath revenge in his 
power, and does not use it, is the 
great man ; it is for low and vul- 
gar spirits to transport themselves 
with vengeance. Subdue your af- 
fections; to endure injuries with 
a brave mind is one half the con- 
quest. — Human Peudence. 



Affluence is more detrimental 
to ministers than to anv ottier or- 



der of men. It tends to divert 
their thoughts, to interrupt their 
studies, to chill their devotions, to 
weaken their exertions, and to 
corrupt their hearts. Hence they 
are particularly charged not to be 
greedy of filthy lucre. How many 
ministers and Churches have been 
destroyed by it, the corruptions of 
Rome and of the whole Christian 
world will testify.— De. Emmons. 

I cannot call riches better than 
the baggage of virtue — the Roman 
word is better, impedimenta — for 
as the baggage is to an army, so 
is riches to virtue; it cannot be 
spared nor left behind, but it hin- 
dereth the march; yea, and the 
care of it sometimes loseth the 
victory. — Bacon. 

Riches and care are as insepa- 
rable as sun and shadow.. 

Geeat riches have sold more 
men than they ever have bought. 
— Bacon. 

Upon Ahab desiring to have 
Xaboth's vineyard, St. Ambrose 
cries aloud, " Ye rich men, where 
do your foolish passions carry you? 
How far do you extend your pos- 
sessions? Would you engross aU 
the earth to yourselves alone? 
How comes it that you drive out 
those whom nature hath given you 
for companions, and appropriate to 
yourselves a command of what na- 
ture has made common ? The 
earth was made indifferentlv for 



PJCIIES-EIDICULE. 



247 



the rich and poor; wliy, then, do 
you attribute it to yourselves as 
your own patrimony? Nature 
knows no rich, who brought us 
all poor into the world. For, in 
fine, we are not born with fine 
clothes, nor Avith silver and gold. 
She who brought us into the world 
without clothes and food, will re- 
ceive us again quite naked into her 
bosom. She doth not know how 
to contain our possessions and es- 
tates in the grave, A little space 
of ground after death is enough 
both for the rich and poor. Na- 
ture then produces us all alike, 
and makes us all die without any 
dijference. Who can find out the 
different conditions of the dead? 
Open the sepalchers, view the 
dead bodies, move the ashes, and 
distinguish, if you can, the rich 
from the poor. Perhaps you will 
know him by the magnificence of 
his tomb, which will only show 
you that he possessed more goods, 
or rather that he hath lost more 
than the poor man has. 

OuE income should be like our 
shoes : if too small, they will gall 
and pinch us; but if too large, 
they will cause us to stumble and 
to trip. But wealth, after all, is a 
relative thing, since he that has 
little and wants less, is richer than 
he that has much but wants more, 

— COLTON. 

Be not too greedy in desiring 
riches, nor too eager in seeking 
them; nor too covetous in keep- 



ing them ; nor too passionate in 
losing them. The first will pos- 
sess thy soul of discontent; the 
second will dispossess thy body of 
rest; the third will possess thy 
wealth of thee ; the last will dis- 
possess thee of thyself. — ^Exchi- 



No JUST man ever became rich 
all at once. — Mexa^stder. 

If thou art rich, then show the 
greatness of thy fortune ; or what 
is better, the greatness of thy soul, 
in the meekness of thy conversa- 
tion ; condescend to men of low 
estate, supix)rt the distressed, and 
patronize th e neglected. Be great ; 
but let it be in cousidering riches 
as they are, as talents committed 
to an earthen vessel. — Steexe. 



Some men are, in regard to ridi- 
cule, like tin-roofed buildings in 
regard to hail : all that hits them 
bounds rattling off; not a stone 
goes through. — H. W. Beeciier. 

He that indulges himself in rid- 
iculing the little imperfections and 
weaknesses of his friends, will in 
time find mankind united against 
him. The man who sees another 
ridiculed before him, though he 
may for the present concur in the 
general laugh, yet in a cool hour 
will consider the same trick might 
be played against himself; but 



248 EIDICULE — PJGHTEOUSN^ESS — SABBATH, THE. 



when there is no sense of this 
danger, the natural pride of hu- 
man nature rises against him who, 
by general censures, lays claim to 
general superiority. — JonxsoN. 

Maxy deists attack religion, not 
with the weapons of men, such as 
reason and argument, but with 
grin and grimace. Raillery and 
wit were never designed to an- 
swer our inquiries after truth. 
Plato and Socrates might have a 
fool's cap clapped upon them, and 
so may Locke and Sir Isaac N^ew- 
ton too, and so laughed at, but 
they are still great and respecta- 
ble characters. Ridicule and rail- 
lery, especially in religious matters, 
are the weapons of pride, igno- 
rance, and envy. — De. Watts. 

I Kxow of no principle which it 
is of more importance to fix in the 
minds of young people, than that 
of the most determined resistance 
to the encroachments of ridicule. 
Give not up to the world, nor to 
the ridicule with which the world 
enforces its dominions over every 
trifling question of manner and 
appearance. Learn from the ear- 
liest days to insure your principles 
against the perils of ridicule. If 
you think it right to differ from 
the times, and to make a stand for 
any valuable point of morals, do 
it, however rustic, however anti- 
quated, however pedantic it may 
appear; do it, not for insolence, 
but seriously and grandly, as a 
man who wears a soul of his own 



in his bosom, and does not wait 
till it shall be breathed into him 
by the breath of fashion. Let men 
call you mean, if you know you 
are just; hypocritical, if you are 
honestly religious; pusillanimous, 
if you feel you are firm. Resist- 
ance soon converts nnprincipled 
wit into sincere respect; and no 
after-time can tear from you those 
feelings which every man carries 
within him who made a noble and 
successful exertion in a virtuous 
cause. — Sidney Smith. 

The talent of turning men into 
ridicule, and exposing to laughter 
those one converses with, is the 
qualification of little minds and 
ungenerous tempers. A young 
man with this cast of mind cuts 
himself oft" from all manner of im- 
provement. — Addison. 



EiGHTEOusxEss crcatcs a heaven 
in every man's house into which 
it enters, and it becomes the glory 
of the family circle. — R. Hill. 

When we come to know our 
own hearts, we are soon delivered 
from trusting in ourselves, and 
from our own fancied righteous- 
ness.— R. Hill. 



I HAVE by long and sound ex- 
perience found that the due ob- 



SA1515ATI: 

scrvance of tliis (tlie Lord's) day, 
and of the duties of it, has been 
of great advantage to me. God 
Almighty is the Lord of our time, 
and leads it to us ; and as it is but 
just that we should consecrate this 
part of that time to him, so I have 
found, by a strict and diligent ob- 
servation, that a due observance 
of this day hath ever had joined 
to it a blessing upon the rest of 
my time ; and the week that hath 
so begun, hath been blessed and 
prosperous to me. And on the 
other side, when I have been neg- 
ligent of this day, the rest of the 
week has been unhappy and un- 
successful to my own secular em- 
ployments; so that I could easily 
make an estimate of my successes, 
in my own secular employments 
of the week following, by the 
manner of my passing this day. 
And this I do not write lightly or 
inconsiderately, but upon a long 
and sound observation and expe- 
rience. — Sir Matthew Hale. 



The proper observation of the 
Sabbath is indeed to be urged by 
arguments greatly superior to po- 
litical reasons, but such reasons 
are offered because with some per- 
sons they will have more weight 
than those which are religious. 
The institution of a day devoted 
to rest and reflection, after six 
days spent in labor, is ftivorable 
to give vigor to the virtuous mind, 
which is absolutely necessary if 
we would constantly entertain an 
adequate idea of the blessings of 



-SATAX. 



2-49 



liberty, or take etlectiial methods 
to defend it if infringed. Feeble- 
ness of mind would be the conse- 
quence of continual labor, or of 
dissipation on the Sabbath, and 
this would have such an efi'ect 
on all ranks, but especially on the 
lower classes, that in time it would 
annihilate civil liberty; besides 
this, it is highly agreeable to the 
nature of man. The human mind 
is so constituted by nature as to 
make greater advances by inter- 
vals of ease frequently i-epeated 
than by uninterrupted progression. 
After the cessation of a whole day 
the operations of the week are 
begun with fresh ardor, and ac- 
quire a degree of novelty ; so that, 
in truth, no time is lost to the 
public or to individuals by the ob- 
servation of a Sabbath, because 
the loss of a few hours is amply 
compensated by the additional 
vigor and spirit which are given 
to human activity by the agreea- 
ble vicissitude. — De. Knox. 



Till we have sinned Satan is a 
parasite ; when we have sinned he 
is a tyrant. — Hall. 

Upon the devil showing in a 
moment all the kingdoms of the 
earth to our Lord, St. Ainbrose 
says : " This doth not show so 
much the shortness of time that 
the enemy of mankind took to 
show our Saviour all mortal grand- 



250 



SATAN. 



eur, as the shortness of the dura- 
tion of it. For all the greatest 
splendor and pomp of the world 
passes in a moment, and often the 
honors of the age flj away, even 
before a man comes to them." 

It has long been the policy of 
the devil to keep the masses of the 
world in ignorance ; but finding at 
length that they will read, he is 
doing all in his power to poison 
the books. — Kiek. 

As THE most dangerous winds 
may enter little openings, so the 
devil never enters more danger- 
ously than by little, unobserved 
incidents, which seem to be noth- 
ing, yet insensibly open the heart 
to great temptations. — Jonx Wes- 
ley. 

"Whe^st God works upon man he 
begins with the soul, and so brings 
over the senses ; but Satan begins 
at the senses, and so corrupts the 
soul, as he did with our first par- 
ents. — Baekee. 

He who will fight the devil at 
his own weapon, must not won- 
der if he finds him an overmatch. 
— South. 

Theee are three ways that Sa- 
tan takes to bring distress upon 
the minds of believers: first, by 
obscure Scriptures; secondly, by 
nice questions in experience ; third- 
ly, by dark providences. God, by 
his Spirit, teaches believers how to 



read the short-hand of his provi- 
dence. God hides himself and his 
providence frequently behind sec- 
ond causes. — Gueintall. 

Satan cannot compel any to 
sin; his closest access and most 
vehement solicitations take not 
away our moral liberty. But we 
have still the power of turning 
our minds, or at least our wills, 
off from the things proposed, as 
well as to them, and therefore his 
most horrid motions and sugges- 
tions, when they are resisted, leave 
no more taint on the mind than 
our happening to hear or see the 
wicked words and works of any 
of our fellow-creatures without 
our choice and desire. In short, 
his work and manner of tempting, 
like that of our own species, is but 
objective to the intellectual and 
rational faculties, by presenting to 
them ideas and arguments to con- 
vince, deceive, and persuade, only 
with the advantage of a nearer 
application to our spirits ; and yet 
for the most part he advances to 
our spirits by the means of our an- 
imal frame, and what belongs to it. 
All these avenues lie open to Sa- 
tan, and by acting vigorously either 
on the senses, or on objects pre- 
sented to them, or on both togeth- 
er, he can give them stronger colors 
of either the agreeable or disagree- 
able than naturally they have, that 
so the temptation may strike the 
senses with unusual force, accord- 
ing to the kind of the object, and 
the use Satan wants to make of it. 



SAT AX — SAVIOUR, THE — SCTIIPTURE. 



lie also may be able, by divine 
permission, to excite irregular fer- 
ments in the blood and animal 
spirits, and thereby to make way 
for the disorderly working of the 
passions. He has also great power 
over the imagination and the will ; 
but yet for all this we must give 
consent and open the door, or Sa- 
tan cannot accomplish his ends in 
any one instance. — Hubbaed. 

It is one mercy, that though 
Satan is mighty, yet he is not al- 
mighty. However, as he is so crafty 
and malicious, it is highly neces- 
sary that believers should be very 
watchful, holy, and humble, and 
pray much for divine assistance 
against him. — Gtjexall. 

Agaixst whom doth Satan 
multiply his malicious assaults ? 
Against those in whom God hath 
multiplied his graces. Satan is 
too crafty a pirate to attack an 
empty vessel ; he seeks to rob 
those vessels which are richly 
laden. — Bishop Cowper. 



Strigtun. 



The Saviour of the world has 
paid upon the cross the price of 
our ransom; he hath shed even the 
last drop of his blood. Christian 
soul, set a high value on thyself, 
and have thoughts worthy of thy- 
self; see what you cost! — St. 

AUSTIX. 

(See also Cheist.) 



De, Joxas Justus remarked at 
Luther's table, " There is in the 
Holy Scripture a wisdom so pro- 
found, that no man may thor- 
oughly study it or comprehend 
it." " Ay," said Luther, " we 
must ever remain scholars here; 
we cannot sound the depth of one 
single verse in Scripture; we get 
hold but of the A, B, C, and that 
imperfectly. Who can so exalt 
himself as to comprehend this one 
line of St. Peter: 'Eejoice, inas- 
much as ye are partakers of Christ's 
suti'erings.' Here St. Peter w^ould 
have us rejoice in our deepest mis- 
ery and trouble, like as a child 
kisses the rod." 

The doctrine of a divine change 
in the heart of man is a full proof 
of the divine origin of the Scrip- 
tures. None but a God of almighty 
power could dare to give the prom- 
ise to change the heart of man, 
since nothing short of such al- 
mighty power can accomplish a 
change so glorious. — R. Hill. 

The Holy Scripture ought to be 
read in the same spirit that it was 
written, and cannot be understood 
but by the same spirit ; for there 
is as much difference betw^een the 
true study and the bare reading of 
the sacred books, as there is be- 
tween the familiar conversation 
that a man has with an old friend, 
and the indifferent discourse that 
one holds with an unknown stran- 



252 



SCRIPTURE. 



ger in the way; or between an 
alliance riveted by long custom, 
and a civility done by accident. — 
St. Beenaed. 

What else is Holy Scripture 
but a letter from the Almighty 
God to his creature. The King of 
heaven, the Lord of men and of 
angels, has sent you a letter to 
conduct you to eternal life, and 
yet you delay to read it zealously. 
Learn the mind of God in the 
Word of God. — Geegoey. 

Study the Holy Scriptures, es- 
pecially the New Testament, for 
therein are contained the words 
of eternal life. It has God for its 
author, salvation for its end, and 
truth without any mixture of error 
for its matter. — Locke. 

The invariable rule we should 
act upon in the interpretation of 
the Scriptures, is to make them 
speak consistently with themselves. 
— E. Hill. 

For Scripture style is noble and 

divine, 
It speaks no less than God in every 

line; 
It is not built on disquisition vain; 
The things we must believe are 

few and plain. Deydex. 

The Holy Scripture is a stream 
of running water, where alike the 
elephant may swim, and the lamb 
walk without losing its feet, — 
Geegoey. 



God's word explains all his prov- 
idences, for the Scriptures are ful- 
filling every day. — Hexey. 

The graceful negligence of na- 
ture always pleases beyond the 
truest ornaments that art can de- 
vise. Indeed, they are then truest 
when they approach the nearest 
to this negligence. To attain it 
is the very triumph of art. The 
wise artist, therefore, always com- 
pletes his studies in the great school 
of creation, where the forms of ele- 
gance lie scattered in endless vari- 
ety; and the writer who wishes 
to possess some portion of that 
sovereign excellence, simplicity, 
even though he were an infidel, 
would have recourse to the Scrip- 
tures, and make them his model. 
The pathetic and sublime shnplic- 
ity of our Saviour's whole descrip- 
tion of the last judgment cannot 
be paralleled by any writing of any 
age. In the Gospel we find no 
pompous displays of reasoning; no 
labored and difiicult distinctions; 
no long and learned inquiries con- 
cerning the nature and kinds of 
virtue ; but virtue itself represent- 
ed to the life; in examples and 
precepts, wiiich are level to the 
plainest understandings; in famil- 
iar occurrences ; in short and sim- 
ple narrations ; in actions or dis- 
courses, real or imagined. x\nd 
perhaps, among other things, it is 
this unsystematic form, this neglect 
of art and method, which produces 
that graceful ease, that venerable, 
majestic simplicity, that air of 



SCRIPTURE— ^-ELF-EXAMIXATIOX— SELFISHNESS. 253 



truth and originality, -VN'hich dis- 
tinguish the Scriptures from all 
human writings. — Rev. J. Maix- 

WAPJXG. 

The Scriptures contain, inde- 
pendently of a divine origin, more 
true sublimity, more exquisite 
beauty, purer morality, more im- 
portant history, and finer strains 
both of poetry and eloquence, than 
could be collected within the same 
compass from all other books that 
were ever composed in any age, or 
in any idiom. The two parts of 
which the Scriptures consist are 
connected by a chain of composi- 
tions, which bear no resemblance, 
in form or style, to any that can 
be produced from the stores of 
Grecian, Indian, Persian, or even 
Arabian learning. Tlie antiquity 
of those compositions no man 
doubts; and the unstrained ap- 
plication of them to events long 
subsequent to their publication, is 
a solid ground of belief that they 
were genuine predictions, and con- 
sequently inspired. — Sir William 

JOXES. 



As THE eye sees things around 
it, but not itself, so most persons 
look at others, but neglect self- 
examination. — Beookes. 



NoTHiNO- ought so much to 
diminish the good opinion we 



have of ourselves as to see that we 
disapprove at one time what we 
approve at another. — La Roche- 
foucauld. 



Selfishness, 

Selfishness is the opposite to be- 
nevolence, and one of the principal 
effects of the fall. It is a disease 
which assumes different forms in 
different classes of society. In the 
great and wealthy it shows itself in 
luxury, pomp, parade, and haughti- 
ness, and is dead to the generous 
pursuits of an enlarged heart. In 
the lower orders it manifests it- 
self in envy or detraction, and 
sometimes in dishonest or dishon- 
orable dealings with each other; 
but though the external effects 
may vary in the different orders of 
society, the internal principle is 
the same. It is a disposition in 
an individual to make self the 
grand center and ends of his de- 
sires and enjoyments, to overrate 
his own merits and importance, 
and of course to magnify his 
claims on others, and in return to 
underrate theirs on him. It is a 
disposition to undervalue the ad- 
vantages, and overstate the disad- 
vantages of his condition in life. 
Oliristianity in every way sets 
herself in direct hostility to selfish- 
ness, and it is her main object to 
root it out, and to rectify the false 
standard which it imposes on us, 
with views however far liiglier 



254 SELFISHNESS— SELF-KNOWLEDGE — SELF-LOYE. 



than any whicli concern merely 
our temporal and social well-being. 
For real religion brings us to a 
just estimate of ourselves and of 
all around us, and to a due impres- 
sion of the various claims and 
obligations resulting from the dif- 
ferent relations in which we stand. 
Benevolence, enlarged, vigorous, 
operative benevolence is the mas- 
ter principle of real Christianity. 
In whatever class or order in so- 
ciety she prevails, she sets herself 
to rectify and counteract the par- 
ticular mode of selfishness to 
whicli that class is liable. Afflu- 
ence she teaches to be liberal and 
beneficent; authority to use its 
power with gentleness; and the 
lower orders she instructs to be 
diligent, humble, and patient. 
Such are the blessed effects of real 
Christianity and Christian benev- 
olence. WlLBEEFOECE, 

"We should distinguish between 
that spirit of selfishness Avhich 
makes us care for no one's interest 
but our own, and a serious regard 
for our own spiritual good. 
Christians delight themselves in 
the Lord, "while it is Christ 
within them " that " is the 
hope of glory." And thus it is 
promised in return that "a good 
man shall be satisfied from him- 
self." 

Those who are most disinter- 
ested, and have the least of selfish- 
ness, have best materials for being 
happy. — SiGouEXEY. 



If you really wish to know 
your faults ask your enemies. 
What your friends will never tell 
you, in that not acting the true 
part of a friend, your enemies 
will. When they aim an arrow 
it will be at the place where there 
is a break in your harness. They 
can hit the sore place in you with 
unerring aim. — II. W. Beechek. 



Our self-love endures with 
greater impatience the condemna- 
tion of our tastes, than of our 
opinions. — La Eochefoucauld. 

Self-love is more artful than 
the most artful man in the world. 
— La Eogiiefouoauld. 

Self-love sometimes borrows 
the face of honest zeal. — Hall. 

Whatever discoveries may have 
been made in the territory of self- 
love, there still remain in it ma- 
ny unknown tracts. — La Eoche- 

FOUCALT/D. 

Self-love is the greatest of all 
flatterers. — La Eochefoucauld. 

A proper degree of self-love is 
wisely implanted in our nature, 
not only for self-preservation, but 
to keep us from being too much 
degraded and insulted. But such 



SHAME — SICKNESS — SILEXCE. 



is the pride of many that they 
love themselves to such an im- 
moderate degree as either totally 
to neglect self-examination, or 
only occasionally to attend to it. 
and even then in a very super- 
ficial and partial manner. A very 
judicious "writer observes that 
" self-admiration is the very hedge- 
hog of life and conversation, for 
some persons, like this creature, as 
it were, roll and lap up themselves 
within their soft down, and turn 
out prickles to all besides." 
Would any one wish to be truly 
wise he must resolutely oppose 
too much self-esteem, and determ- 
ine to search himself as closely as 
his most bitter enemy would ex- 
amine him if permitted so to do. — 

AXDEEWS. 



I CONSIDER that man to be un- 
done who is insensible to shame. 
— Platjtus. 

Shame is a great restraint upon 
sinners at first, but that soon falls 
oif ; and when men have once lost 
their innocence, their modesty is 
not like to be long troublesome to 
them. For impudence comes on 
with vice, and grows up with it. 
Lesser vices do not banish all 
shame and modesty, but great 
and abominable crimes harden 
men's foreheads, and make them 
shameless. When men have the 

17 



heart to do a very bad thing, they 
seldom want the face to bear it 

out. TlLLOTSOX. 



Sickness. 

Every sickness is a little death. 
I will be content to die oft that I 
may die once well. — Hall. 

The chamber of sickness is often 
the chapel of devotion. — Bunyax. 

Sickness and disease are, in 
weak minds, the sources of melan- 
choly ; but that which is painful 
to the body may be profitable to 
the soul. Sickness, the mother of 
modesty, puts us in mind of our 
mortality, and while we drive on 
heedlessly in the full career of 
worldly pomp and jollity, kindly 
pulls us by the ear, and brings 
us to a proper sense of our duty. — 

BUETOX. 



Silma. 

True silence is the rest of the 
mind, and is to the spirit what 
sleep is to the body, nourishment 
and refreshment. It is a great 
virtue ; it covers folly, keeps se- 
crets, avoids disputes, and pre- 
vents sin. — Pexx. 

It is a hard thing to speak well, 
but it is harder to be well silent, 
so as it may be free from suspi- 



256 



SILENCE — SIMPLICITY — SO . 



cion of aflfectation, or sullenness, or 
ignorance. Else loquacity, and 
not silence, would be a note of 
wisdom. — Hall. 

Silence is a balm that cures 
mishaps. — ^schtlus. 

Thine: not silence the wisdom 
of fools, but, if rightly timed, the 
honor of wise men, who have not 
the infirmity but the virtue of 
taciturnity, and speak not out of 
the abundance, but the well- 
weighed thoughts of their hearts. 
Such silence may be eloquence, 
and speak thy worth above the 
power of words. Make such a 
one thy friend, in whom princes 
may be happy, and great counsels 
successful. Let him have the key 
of thy heart who hath the lock of 
his own, which no temptation 
can open. — Sm T. Beowne. 

Silence is the best course for 
any man to adopt who distrusts 
himself. — La Eochefoucauld. 

It is said of Socrates that when- 
ever he felt himself beginning to 
be angry he remained silent. 

The grandest operations, both 
in nature and in grace, are the 
most silent and imperceptible. 
The shallow brook babbles in its 
passage, and is heai'd by every 
one; but the coming on of the 
seasons is silent and unseen. The 
storm rages and alarms, but its 
fury is soon exhausted, and its 



effects are partial and soon reme- 
died. But the dew, though gen- 
tle and unheard, is immense in 
quantity, and the very life of large 
portions of the earth, — Cecil. 



Simplicity and purity are the 
two wings by which a man is 
lifted up above all earthly things. 
Simplicity is in the intention, pu- 
rity in the affection. Simplicity 
tends to God, purity apprehends 
and tastes him. — Thomas a Kem- 



Affected simplicity is a refined 
imposture. — La Eochefoucauld. 

A MANLY, sensible simplicity 
should run through all our con- 
versation and writing, and in all 
our conduct our innocency of mind 
should appear. — Abbott. 

Simplicity is always a charac- 
teristic of real genius. 

The greatest truths are the sim- 
plest, and so are the greatest men. 



S>xn. 

As I AM fearful to act great 
sins, so I will be careful to avoid 
small sins. He that contemns a 
small fault commits a large one. 
I see many drops make a shower, 



SIX. 



and what difference is it whether 
I be wet either in the rain or in 
the river, if both be to the skin ? 
There is small benefit in the 
choice, whether we go down to 
hell by degrees or at once. — 
^Vaewick. 

DiTixES hare many opinions re- 
specting the sin against the Holy 
Ghost, St. Ambrose thinks it is 
denying the divinity of the spirit; 
Grotius and some others think it 
is any kind of impenitence, as 
Korah, Pharaoh, Simon Magus, 
etc.; Archbishop Tillotson thinks 
it was only committed by the Jews 
toward our Lord, and cannot be 
committed now ; Augustin, and 
the assembly of divines, that it is 
any malicious opposition to the 
Gospel; but Whitley, Doddridge, 
Guyse, Henry, Pool, and Dr. Gill 
give the most likely opinion, name- 
ly, that it consists in willfully op- 
posing the Gospel, and ridiculing 
the operations of the Spirit against 
clear knowledge and conscience. 

As A very little dust will dis- 
order a clock, and the least sand 
will obscure our sight, so the least 
grain of sin which is upon the 
heart will hinder its right motion 
toward God. — John "Wesley. 

Six is a base act of ingratitude 
against all the favors we have re- 
ceived of God. Thus, for instance, 
suppose a man at forty years of 
age to have received a hundred 
thousand millions of favors from 



the Lord ; the next sin tliat he 
commits includes so many acts of 
ingratitude, and so on through 
life. What a view does this give 
us of the evil and magnitude of 
sin. — KoBiNSOx. 

A POOE sinner lies in his sins as 
Peter did in his chains, fast asleep, 
though a warrant was signed for 
his execution the next day; but 
the Spirit in the Word awakens 
him, as the angel did Peter. — 
Flayel. 

To TREMBLE at the sight of thy 
sin makes thy faith the less apt to 
tremble. The devils believe and 
tremble, because they tremble at 
what they believe : their belief 
brings tremblings ; thy trembling 
brings belief. — Exchieidiox. 

The wages that sin bargains for 
with the sinner are life, pleasure, 
and profit ; but the wages it pays 
him are death, torment, and de- 
struction. He that would under- 
stand the falsehood and deceit of 
sin, must compare its promises and 
its payments together. — Sorxn. 

The insensibility of a sinner, the 
want of regret and penitence after 
having sinned, provokes God more 
than the sin itself. — St. Ohets- 



It is awful to think that there 
is a sin (that against the Holy 
Ghost) which will not be forgiven ; 
but it is a comfort to kno^v that it 



258 



SIN". 



cannot be committed by that per- 
son who fears he has committed 
it. 

Six is a hard taskmaster, and 
pays dreadful wages. — R. Hill. 

Whex once we are made to hate 
sin, we may be sure there is a di- 
vine change. — R. Hill. 

He that hath tasted the bitter- 
ness of sin will fear to commit it ; 
and he that hath felt the sweet- 
ness of mercy will fear to offend 
it. — Chaenock. 

Wheee the father of a family 
brings sin home to the house, it is 
not easily swept out. — Hall. 

Six cannot enter heaven, but a 
pardoned sinner may. 

He that lives in sin, and expects 
happiness hereafter, is like him 
that soweth cockle, and thinks to 
fill his barn with barley. 

ISTo povEETY can be an excuse 
for sin. — R. Hill. 

Besides many other evils that 
came by the fall of man, the higl 
power of his reason and the free- 
dom of his will were wounded and 
corrupted, and all men thereby 
brought into such blindness and 
infirmity that they cannot hate 
and avoid sin, except they be il- 
luminated and made free by special 
grace, through the supernatural 



help and working of the Holy 
Ghost. — Aechbishop Oeaxmee. 

Oeigixal sin acted as an extin- 
guisher, and therefore the soul is 
born in the dark, and cannot see 
till enlightened by the soul of God. 
— Toplady. 

Demosthexes being inclined to 
a particular sin, yet resisted it, be- 
cause, he said, he would not buy 
repentance so dear. How much 
more should a Christian say so 
when tempted to sin. — Hexey. 

Six is the sickness of the soul, 
and Christ the only physician that 
can cure it. — Masox. 

Some sinners shift their sins as 
they do their dress, put off one to 
put on another ; this is only wait- 
ing on Satan in a new livery. — 
Masox. 

Six has introduced grief and 
death into the world ; yet by a 
wonderful conduct of Providence 
even sin, which is as the father of 
death and grief, is destroyed by 
grief and death. — St. Cheysos- 

TOM. 

Could we forethink what our 
sin would cost us, we durst not 
but be innocent. — Hall. 

It is the greatest of all sins al- 
ways to continue in sin. For 
where the custom of sinning wax- 
eth greater, the conscience for sin 



SIX. 



259 



grows the less. It is easier to 
quench a spark than a fire. — 
Warwick. 

Sinner, you are willing to sin, 
but unwilling to suffer; for that 
you are not contented to be unjust 
yourself, but would liave the Lord 
himself so unjust as not to punish 
your crimes. — St. Austin. 

He that will not flee from the 
occasions and allurements of sin, 
though they may seem never so 
pleasant to the eye or sweet to 
the taste, shall find them in the 
end to be more sharp than vine- 
gar, more bitter than wormwood, 
more deadly than poison. — Brooks. 

For every drop of sin in tlie 
life, there is an ocean in the heart. 
— St. Austin. 

Face doth not more answer to 
face, than punishment to sin. — 
Hall. 

Grievous sins, whose enormity 
is manifest and sensible, are some- 
times less dangerous than little 
liberties that are taken in the con- 
versation of the world ; because 
that a virtuous soul is struck with 
horror at a gross vice, and resists 
an evil that flies in her face. But 
she is not always guarded against 
small faults that do not strike at 
first, and whose malignity is not 
at all perceived. She doth not 
forbid herself things that seem in 
a manner permitted; and for this 



reason she ought to be more cau- 
tious, and so much the more to 
fear danger, as it is said there is 
none to fear. — Tertullian. 

To SOCIETY, as well as to indi- 
viduals, sin is a greater calamity 
than either pestilence, famine, or 
war; not only because it is the 
sole occasion of those great evils, 
but those only operate as occa- 
sional causes of misery; whereas 
sin is the perpetual scourge of the 
world, every moment producing 
mischief, bringing ruin on individ- 
uals, tearing families and commu- 
nities in pieces, and giving rise to 
a thousand tragical scenes in this 
unhappy world. — Dr. Blair. 

Forgotten sins will have a res- 
urrection ; and, like invulnerable 
coins dug from the earth, will have 
a marked image and superscrip- 
tion. 

Such as take up the old sins of 
a Christian, (sins which God hath 
forgiven, and he hath not repeated 
since his conversion,) merely to 
grieve his spirit and slander him, 
show great malice and cruelty in 
taking such pains by traveling i)er- 
liaps many years back, that they 
may find a handful of dirt to throw 
in a saint's face. Thus Shimei 
reproached David, (2 Sam. i, 7:) 
•' Come out, thou bloody man." 
When saints meet with such re- 
proaches, they may answer as Beza 
did the papists, when for want of 
anything else they upbraided liim 



260 



SIX — SIXS, LITTLE — SINCERITY — SL AXDER. 



for writing some wanton poems in 
his youth: "These men grudge 
me the pardoning mercy of God;" 
or they may quote Ezek. xxxiii, 14, 
16: "If the wicked turn, none of 
those sins which he hath commit- 
ted shall be mentioned unto him. ^ 

GUEXA-LL. 

When we sin we are not going 
against a cold, unfeeling law, but 
are striking with a cruel hand di- 
rect at the living, loving heart of 
God.— H. ^Y. Beechee. 



Sxtis, f itik 

Geeat crimes ruin comparative- 
ly few. It is the little meanness- 
es, selfishnesses, and impurities 
that do the work of death on most 
men ; and these things march not 
to the sound of fife or drum. They 
steal with muffled tread, as the foe 
steals on the sleeping sentinel. — 
H. ^Y. Beechee. 



Sxtirmij, 

Some merit's mine to dare to be 

sincere. 
But greater yours sincerity to bear. 
LoED Lytteltox. 



The general want of sincerity in 
conversation is a great proof of our 
degeneracy. The world is so full 
of dissimulation and compliments, 
that men's words are hardly any 
signification of their thoughts ; and 



if any speak as they think, they 
cannot escape the censure of want 
of good breeding. The old Enghsh 
plainness and sincerity, that in- 
tegrity and honesty of disposition 
which argues true greatness of 
mind, is almost lost among us. 
The dialect in conversation is now 
so swelled with vanity and com- 
pliment, that if a man that lived 
an age or two ago should return 
into the world again, he would 
scarcely understand his own lan- 
guage, and would be a great while 
before he could bring himself with 
a good countenance and a good 
conscience to converse with men 
upon equal terms, and in their own 
way, as they do now. 

SiNCEEiTY is an openness of 
heart; 'tis found in a very few 
people, and that which we see 
commonly is not it, but a subtle 
dissimulation, to gain the confi- 
dence of others. — Chaeeox. 

SixcEEiTY is to speak as we 
think, believe as we pretend, act 
as we profess, perform as we prom- 
ise, and really be what we would 
seem and appear to be. — Ritle of 
Life. 



If by the liberty of the press 
we understand merely the liberty 
of discussing the propriety of pub- 
lic measures and political opinions, 
let us have as much of it as you 
please ; but if it means the liberty 



SLANDER — SLEEP. 



261 



of affronting, calumniatini:, and 
defaming one an(^tlier, I, for my 
part, own myself willing to part 
with my share of it whenever our 
legislators shall please to alter the 
law, and shall cheerfully consent 
to exchange my liberty of abusing 
others, for the privilege of not be- 
ing abused myself, — Fiiaxklix. 

Slaxdek, 
Whose edge is sharper than the 

sword ; whose tongue 
Out- venoms all the worms of Nile ; 

whose breath 
Rides on the posting winds, and 

doth belie 
All corners of the world. 

Shakspeaee. 

Theaxdas, as he ground his 
sword, being asked if it were not 
very sharp, answered, "Yes, but 
not so sharp as slander." 

Slaxder, that worst of poisons, 

ever finds 
An easy entrance to ignoble minds. 

Whex prejudice or partiality 
holds the scale, a grain of slander 
or detraction will turn the balance. 

Slaxder is a vice that strikes a 
double blow", w^ounding both him 
that commits, and him against 
Avliom it is committed. — Saueix, 

Close thine ear against him 
that shall open his mouth secret- 
ly against another. If thou re- 
ceive not his words, they fly back 



and wound the reporter; if thou 
receive them, they fly forward and 
wound the receiver. — Quaeles. 

Ox Rumor's tongues 
Continual slanders ride. 

Shakspeaee. 

Slaxder is easily fixed, but time 
will discover the fraud of it. — 
Demosthexes. 

Believe nothing against anoth- 
er, but on good authority ; nor 
report w^hat may hurt another, 
unless it be a greater hurt to an- 
other to conceal it. — Pexx. 



Sleep. 



"Sleep is so like death," says 
Sir Thomas Brown, "that I dare 
not trust myself to it without 
prayer." And their resemblance 
is, indeed, striking and apparent. 
They both, when they seize the 
body, leave the soul at liberty; 
and wise is he that remembers of 
both that they can be made safe 
and happy only by virtue. — Sir 
W. Temple. 

Old and disordered persons un- 
doubtedly require more time for 
sleep than others, and women 
rather more sleep than men. But 
in general we may say that young 
or healthy persons should not lay 
in bed above six or seven hours at 
most. ]f we properly consider 
this we shall see that those who 



262 



SLOTH — SOLITUDE. 



lay nine or ten hours, if they do 
not hurt their substance and their 
health, are all guilty of misusing 
their precious time. Dr. Dodd- 
ridge, in his Family Expositor, 
has this note : "I will here record 
an observation which I have found 
of great use, and to which I may 
say the production of this work, 
and most of my other writings, is 
owing, that the ditFerence of rising 
at five and at seven in the morn- 
ing for "the space of forty years 
(supposing a man to go to bed at 
the same hour) is equivalent to 
the addition of ten years in a 
man's life." Eromthis note, and 
many remarks that might be made 
on the subject, we may see the 
great benefits of early rising to 
our soul, our body, our mental 
faculties, and the improvement of 
time. — Wesley. 



SIo%. 



Sloth makes all things difficult, 
but industry all easy. He that 
riseth late must trot all day, and 
shall scarcely overtake his business 
at night ; while laziness travels so 
slowly that poverty soon over- 
takes him. — Feanklix. 

It would be thought a hard 
government that should tax its 
people one tenth part of their 
time, to be employed in its service. 
But idleness taxes many of us 
much more, if we reckon all that 



is spent in absolute sloth, or doing 
nothing, with that which is spent in 
idle employments or amusements 
that amount to nothing. Sloth, by 
bringing on diseases, absolutely 
shortens life. Sloth, like rust, 
consumes faster than labor wears ; 
while the key often used is always 
bright. — Feaxklin. • 



By all means use sometimes to be 
alone. 

Salute thyself: see what thy soul 
doth wear. 

Dare to look in thy chest, for 'tis 
thine own, 

And tumble up and down what 
thou findest there. 

Who cannot rest till he good fel- 
lows find, 

He breaks up house, turns out of 
doors his mind. Heebeet. 

OxE hour of solitude passed in 
sincere and earnest prayer, or 
the" conflict with and conquest 
over a single passion or bosom sin, 
will teach us more of thought, 
will more effectually awaken the 
faculty, and form the habit of re- 
flection than a year's study in the 
schools without them. — Cole- 



Leisuee and solitude are the 
best effect of riches, because the 
mother of thought. Both are 
avoided by most rich men, who 



SOKROW — SOUL. 



263 



seek company and business, which 
are signs of being weary of them- 
selves. — Sir TV. Temple. 



We shonld feel sorrow, but not 
sink under its oppression. The 
heart of a wise man should resem- 
ble a mirror, which reflects every 
object without being sullied by 
any. — Coxfucius. 

SoEEOws remembered sweeten 
present joy. — Pollok. 

Sweet source of every virtue, 
sacred sorrow ! he who knows 

not thee. 
Knows not the best emotions of 

the heart, 
Those tender tears that humanize 

the soul, 
The sigh that charms, the pang 

that gives delight. 

Thomson. 

The path of sorrow, and that path 

alone. 
Leads to the land where sorrow is 

unknown. 
No traveler ever reached that 

blest abode, 
Who found not thorns and briers 

in his road. Cowpee. 

He that hath pity on another 
man's sorrow shall be free from it 
himself; and he that delighteth 
in, and scorneth the misery of 



another, shall one time or other 
fall into it himself. — Sie W. 
Raleigh. 



The soul and body are as strings 
of two musical instruments set 
exactly at one height. If one be 
touched the other trembles. They 
laugh and cry, are sick and well 
together. — Flavel. 

The soul and body being part- 
ners in sin, deserve equal punish- 
ment; for if it were not for the 
soul, the body could never lay 
plans of wickedness ; and if it were 
not for the body, they could not 
be carried into execution. 

The soul of man was made to 
walk the skies. Young. 

Eaethlt things cannot satisfy 
the senses, much less the soul. 

A SOUL without reflection, like a 

pile 
Without inhabitants, to ruin runs, 

YOUXG. 

The soul is strong that trusts in 
goodness. — Massingee. 

Cold in the dust this perished 

heart may lie. 
But that which warmed it once 

shall nevei' die. 

Campbell. 



264 



SOUL— iSPIPJT. 



K^fow'sT thou the importance of a 
soul immortal ? 

Behold this midnight glor j, worlds 
on worlds. 

Amazing pomp! redouble the 
amaze ! 

Ten thousand add, and twice ten 
thousand more, 

Then weigh the soul : one soul out- 
weighs them alL 

YouxG. 

The health of the soul is no 
more secure than that of the 
body. And though we may ap- 
pear free from passions, we are in 
quite as much danger of being 
carried away by them as we are 
of falling sick when we are in 
health. — La Eochefoucauld. 

Tnis my soul teaches me of it- 
self, that itself cannot conceive 
how capable, how active it is. It 
can be all things, can comprehend 
all thiags ; know that which is, 
and conceive that which never 
was, never shall be. Xothing can 
fill it but Thou which art infinite ; 
nothing can limit it but Thou 
which art everywhere. — Bishop 
Hall. 

The soul is the life of the body. 
Faith is the life of the soul. Christ 
Is the life of faitli. 

Afflictions may buzz and hum 
about the believer, like bees that 
have lost their sting, but they can 
never hurt him. 

Prosperous providences are, for 
the most part, a dangerous state 



to the soul. The moon never 
suff'ers an eclipse but at the full. 

Many graceless hearts are like 
children's tops, which will go no 
longer than they are whipped. 

The more any renewed heart 
tastes the sweetness of commun- 
ion with God, by so much more 
it is disposed for unity and peace 
with his people, — Flavel. 



Spirit* 



As THE fall has produced the 
most ruinous effects on all the 
human race, the influences of the 
Holy Spirit become absolutely 
necessary to those who are regen- 
erated. They are necessary to illu- 
minate the dark chambers of the 
understanding, and unlock the 
rich cabinet of the Holy Scripture. 
Till these divine influences are ex- 
perienced, all the blessings of 
eternal love, the treasures of re- 
deeming grace, and the consola- 
tions of the Gospel, all remain in- 
explicable mysteries. From these 
influences the Word of God and 
the preaching of the Gospel derive 
their power, and the means of 
grace all their efficacy. And if this 
agency be exercised at the same 
time throughout all the world, 
what an argument does it form in 
favor of the essential divinity of 
the Holy Spirit, — Evaxgelical 

AfA ftAZTXE. 

TThat sort of an evil is a secta- 
rian spirit? It is the cruel iron 



spiraT— succES: 



2G5 



wedge of the devil's own forg- 
ing, to separate Clu-istians from 
each other. Christians thereby 
become like divided armies. — 11. 
Hill. 

The Spirit is Christ's adminis- 
trator, and will be sure to give 
every believer what Christ has 
left them in his will. 

The Spirit can convert without 
the Bible, bnt the Bible cannot 
convert without the Spirit. — Shie- 

LEY. 



Mere success is certainly one of 
the worst arguments in the world 
of a good cause, and the most im- 
proper to satisfy conscience. And 
yet we find by experience that in 
the issue it is the most successful 
of all arguments, and does in a 
very odd but efiectual way, satisfy 
the consciences of a great many 
men by showing them their inter- 
est. TiLLOTSON. 

It is success that colors all in life ; 

Success makes fools admired, 
makes villains honest ; 

All the proud virtue of this vaunt- 
ing world 

Fawns on success and power, 
howe'er acquired. 

TlIOMSOX. 

Theee is a glare about worldly 
success which is very apt to daz- 



zle men's eyes. When we see a 
man rising in the Avorld, thriving 
in business, successful in his spec- 
ulations, if he be a man out of our 
own line, who does not come into 
competition with us so as to make 
us jealous of him, we are too apt 
to form a foolishly high opinion 
of his merits. We are apt to say 
within ourselves, ""What a won- 
derful man this must be to rise so 
rapidly?" forgetting that dust and 
straw and feathers, things with 
neither weight nor value in them, 
rise the soonest and the easiest. 
In like manner it is not the truly 
great and good man, generally 
speaking, who rises the most rap- 
idly into wealth and notice. A 
man may be sharp, active, quick, 
dexterous, cunning; he may be 
ever on the watch for opportuni- 
ties to push his fortunes. A man 
of this kind can hardly fail of 
getting on in the world, yet with 
all this he may not have a grain 
of real greatness about him. He 
may be all I have described, and 
yet have no greatness of mind, no 
greatness of soul. He may be 
utterly without sympathy and fel- 
low-feeling for others ; he may be 
utterly devoid of all true wisdom ; 
he may be without piety and 
without charity; without love, 
that is, either for God or man. — 
Haee. 

Success should be sought and 
expected in all lawful enterprises. 
Men are not called to labor in 
vain. 



266 



SYMPATHY — TALENT — TE AES — TEMPER. 



Suffering rightly borne weak- 
ens that part of us that should be 
weak, and strengthens what should 
be strong, — H. W. Beechee. 



To REJOICE in another's pros- 
perity is to give content to your 
own lot. To mitigate another's 
grief is to alleviate or dispel your 
own. — Edwards. 



^no can produce more and 
better than others, has talents ; 
who can produce something quite 
new, has genius. — Layatee. 

Talent is power; tact is skill. 
Talent makes a man respectable ; 
tact makes him respected. Talent 
convinces; tact converts. Talent 
commands ; tact is obeyed. Tal- 
ent is something; tact everything. 
— London Atlas. 



Tears often prove the telescope 
by which men see far into heaven. 
— IL ^Y. BEEcnER. 

The bitterest tears, and even 
tears slied out of grief, have their 
sweetness and pleasure. There is 



a certain pleasure in weeping, and 
'tis sometimes a sort of consolation 
to an afflicted man to be thor- 
oughly sensible of his affliction. — 
St. Ambrose. 

A tear dropped in the silence 
of a sick chamber often rings in 
heaven with a sound which belongs 
not to earthly trumpet or bells. — 
H. W. Beeoher. 

No RADIANT pearl which crested 
fortune wears, 

No gem, that twinkling hangs from 
beauty's ears. 

Nor the bright stars which night's 
blue arch adorn. 

Nor rising suns that gild the ver- 
nal morn, 

Shine with such luster as the tear 
that breaks 

For other's woe down virtue's 
manly cheeks. Cowper. 



temper/ 

As we call our first language 
our mother tongue, so we may as 
justly call our first tempers our 
mother tempers, xind perhaps it 
may be found more easy to forget 
the language than to part entirely 
Avith those tempers we learned in 
the nursery. — Law. 

If a man has a quarrelsome 
temper, let him alone. The world 
will soon find him employment. 
He will soon meet with some one 
stronger than himself, who will 
repay him better than you can. 



TEMPER AXCE - Til AXKFULXESS — THEATER. 



267 



A man may fight duels all his life 
if he is disposed to quai-rel. — 
Cecil. 

Good temper is like a sunny 
day ; it sheds its brightness on 
evervthing. 



Tempeeaxce : that virtue with- 
out pride, and fortune without 
envy, that gives vigor of frame 
and tranquiUity of mind ; the best 
guardian of youth and support of 
old age, the precept of reason as 
well as religion, and physician of 
the soul as well as the body, the 
tutelar goddess of health, and uni- 
versal medicine of life. — Sir AY. 
Temple. 

Tempeeaxce puts wood on the 
fire, meal in the barrel, flour in the 
tub, money in the purse, credit in 
the country, contentment in the 
house, and clothes on the bairns. — 
Feaxklin. 



Maxt favors which God giveth 
us ravel out for want of hemming, 
through our own unthankfalness ; 
for though prayer purchaseth 
blessings, giving praise doth keep 
quiet possession of them. — Fullee. 

It is another's fault if he be un- 
grateful, but it is mine if I do not 



give. To find one thankful man I 
will oblige many that are not so. 
— Sexeca. 

Theee is this difference between 
a thankful and an unthankful man : 
the one is always pleased in the 
good he has done, and the other 
only once in what he has received. 
— Sexeca. 



Whex you can make an oak out 
of a mushroom, then, and not till 
then, you may hope to make a 
living tree out of that poisonous 
toadstool, the theater. It was, 
even among the heathen nations, 
considered a disgrace to be- con- 
nected with one; and down through 
all the thousands of years which 
it has lived since then, it has come 
with perpetual dishonor on its 
head. — H. W. Beechee. 

It has been said that the theater 
tends to the promotion of morals, 
and that even the clergy should 
patronize its pleasures as auxil- 
iaries to their designs. Are the 
weapons of our warfare, then, so 
feeble and ineflScacious, as that a 
set of strolling players are to be 
called in to give their spiritual 
aid? What! do the plays of an 
Otway and of a Sheridan produce 
more powerful weapons against 
sin than "the sword of the Spirit, 
which is the Word of God ?" Shall 
the rant and ribaldry of unknown 
persons be more conducive to the 



268 



THOUGHTS — TIME. 



spread of pure and undefiled relig- 
ion than the grave and affection- 
ate advice of the pious and devot- 
ed minister, whose character is 
"known and read of all men" 
among whom he presides? Or 
shall even their thinly-strewed 
morality, the gilding of the pois- 
oned pill, do more good than a 
sermon delivered from those sa- 
cred records, in which there is not 
the least taint of sin ? — R. Hill. 



Thoughts ! whence do thev 
arise? what stuff are they made 
of? and what vigor is it that gives 
them such an instantaneous pro- 
duction? They are conceived in 
full maturity, and step into per- 
fection at first. They scorn the 
gradation of bodies, and the heavy 
successions of motion. They gain 
the race at a start, outstretch the 
speed of gunpowder, and distance 
light and lightning. Thoughts 
take up no room. When they are 
right they afford a portable pleas- 
ure, which one may travel with 
without any trouble or incum- 
brance. — Collier. 

Ix matters of conscience first 
thoughts are best; in matters of 
prudence the best thoughts are 
last. 

"Our thoughts," says an elo- 
quent divine, "like the waters of 
the sea when exhaled toward 



heaven, will lose all their bitter- 
ness and saltness, and sweeten into 
an amiable humanity, until they 
descend in gentle showers of love 
and kindness upon our fellow- 
men." 

Guard well thy thought. Our 
thoughts are heard in heaven. 
Consecrate to God the first-fruits 
of your daily thoughts. 



He that would pass the latter 
part of his life with honor and 
decency must, when he is young, 
consider that he shall one day be 
old, and remember, when he is 
old, that he was once young. — 

JOHXSON. 

Time, which gnaws and dimin- 
ishes all things else, augments and 
increaseth benefits; because a no- 
ble action of liberality, done to a 
man of reason, doth grow contin- 
ually by his generously thinking of 
it and remembering it. — Eabelais. 

The property of Christians is to 
bear the ills of time, and to hope 
for the good things of eternity. — 
St. xlusTix. 

ISTo MAN can promise himself 
even fifty years of life, but any 
man may, if he please, live in the 
proportion of fifty years in forty. 
Let him rise early, that he may 
have the day before him, and let 



TIME. 



2G0 



him make the most of the day by 
determining to expend it on two 
sorts of acquaintance only : those 
by whom something may be got, 
and those from whom something 
may be learned. — Colton. 

"With God time has no succes- 
sion ; that which is past is not as 
if it were gone, and that which is 
future is not to come. 

Time is like a rirer, in which 
metals and solid substances are 
sunk, while chaff and straws swim 
upon the surface! — ^Bacox. 

As THE births of living creatures 
at first are ill-shapen, so are all 
innovations which are the births 
of time. It were good that men 
in their innovations w^ould follow 
the example of time itself, wiiich 
indeed innovateth greatly but qui- 
etly, and by degrees scarce to be 
perceived, — Bacox. 

The same God, to whom we are 
but tenants-at-will for the whole, 
requires but the seventh part to 
be paid to him as a small quit-rent 
in acknowledgment of his title. 
It is man only that has the impu- 
dence to demand our whole time, 
though he never gave it, nor can 
restore it, nor is able to pay any 
considerable value for the least 
part of it. — Cowley. 

It were to be wished that all 
men did believe (which they have 
all great reason to do) that the 



consumption and spending of our 
time will be the great inquisition 
of the last and terrible day ; when 
there shall be a more strict inquiry 
how the most dissolute person, the 
most debauched bankrupt, spent 
his time, than liow he spent his 
estate. No doubt it will then 
manifestly appear that our pre- 
cious time was not lent us to do 
nothing with, or to be spent upon 
that which is worse than nothing ; 
and we t^hall not be more con- 
founded with anything, than to 
find tliat there is a perfect regis- 
ter kept of all that we did in that 
time ; and that when we Lave- 
scarce remembered the iboh-oav 
what we did yesterday, there is a 
diary in which nothing we did is 
left outj and as much Botice taken 
when we did nothing at all. Tliis 
will be a sad animadversion when 
it is too late, and when probably 
it may appear that the very idle 
man, he who hath never employed 
himself, may be in a very little 
better condition than he who hath 
been worst employed ; when idle- 
ness shall be declared to be a 
species of wnckedness, and doing 
nothing to be the activity of a 
beast. — Claeexdox. 

The events of tc^-day make iss 
look forward to what will hap- 
pen to-morrow; those of yester- 
day carry our views into another 
world. — Daxby. 

Mex have generally some guard 
upon themselves as to their money 



270 



TIME — TITLES. 



and estates, and will not with eyes 
open suffer others to deprive them 
of it ; but we will let any one rob 
VIS of time, which is more valua- 
ble, and are conte.nted to expose 
this precious treasure to every 
one's rapine, and can quietly look 
on while men thrust in their hands 
and take it out by handfuls, as if 
time w^as of no value; and yet, 
when perhaps it is too late, we 
would give all that we possess for 
a small part of that time which 
we parted with upon such cheap 
and easy terms. — Aechbishop Til- 

LOTSOX. 

Time past never returns. Mo- 
ments lost are lost forever. 

Time is a narrow isthmus be- 
tween two eternities. 

Time flies, man dies, eternity's 
at hand. 

Every moment of time is a mon- 
ument of mercy, — Cowpee. 

Time is the old justice that 
examines ail offenders. — Shak- 

SPEAEE. 

"Impeove your opportunities,^"' 
said Bonaparte to a school of young 
men ; " every hour lost now is a 
chance of future misfortune." 

SixcE goldsmiths and refiners 
are wont all the year long care- 
fully to save the very sweepings 
of their shops, because they con- 
tain in them some filings or dust 
of those richer metals, gold and 
silver, I see not why a Christian 



may not be as careful not to lose 
the fragments and lesser intervals 
of a thing incomparably more pre- 
cious than any metal — Time. — 
CoLTOiSr. 

As EVEEY thread of gold is val- 
uable, so is every minute of time ; 
and as it would be great folly to 
shoe horses, as Nero did, with 
gold, so it is to spend time in tri- 
fles. — Mason, 

"Theee is a time to be born, 
and a time to die," says Solomon, 
and it is the memento of a truly 
wise man ; but there is an interval 
between these two times of infi- 
nite importance. — Richmoxd. 

The time that bears no fruit de- 
serves no name ; 

The man of wisdom is the man of 
years, 

^.^^ 

Titles of honor add not to his 

worth 
Who is an honor to his title. 

FOED. 

Titles and honors are actually 
nothing in themselves ; sometimes, 
however, it happens that they are 
given as a reward of merit, and 
are accompanied with real worth ; 
but in general they are either be- 
stowed upon the undeserving, or 
what come of course in hereditary 
successions. The vulgar are very 
much struck with awe at the ap- 



TITLES — TONGUE — TRIFLES 



271 



pearance of those who liave titles; 
but the judicious part of mankind 
well know that tliose in high life 
are neitlier the better nor the worse 
for their titles and their grandeur, 
and therefore such only respect 
them in proportion to their piety, 
their benevolence, and their use- 
fulness. Honors and wealth we 
continually see can confer nothing 
that can make those truly happy 
who have them, for if they add to 
their joys, they likewise make an 
addition to their fears ; if they 
procure them more outward re- 
spect, they excite more secret en- 
vy and malice against them ; and 
if they in some things augment 
their pleasures, in many respects 
they increase their cares and 
troubles. In short, great persons 
are like the flags on the top of a 
ship's mast: as they are higher 
than the other parts of the ship, 
so they are more subject to winds 
and storms, — Collins. 

Titles, instead of exalting, de- 
base those Avho act not up to them. 

La RoCHEFOrCAITLD. 



"We have two ears and one 
tongue, that we should hear much 
and speak little. — Zexo. 

Give not thy tongue too great 
a liberty, lest it take thee prison- 
er. A word unspoken is like the 
sword in the scabbard, thine ; if 

IS 



vended, thy sword is in another's 
hand. If thou desire to be held 
wise, be so wise as to hold thy 
tongue. — Qtjaeles. 

The tongue is so fed with self- 
love, that it is loth to give any 
verdict against the heart or hands. 
— Hall. 

Theee are but ten precepts of 
the law of God, and two of them, 
so far as concerns the outward 
organ and vent of the sins there 
forbidden, are bestowed on the 
tongue, (one in the first table, and 
the other in the second table,) as 
though it were ready to fly out 
both against God and man if not 
thus bridled. — Leightox. 

It is a great misfortune not to 
have sense enough to speak well, 
and judgment enough to speak 
little. 



Be watchful of trifles, for they 
make up the sum of human things, 
and organize those little springs 
which move the great ones of our 
existence. 

Think naught a trifle, though it 
small appear ■; 

Sands make the mountain, mo- 
ments make the year. 

And trifles, life. Your care to 
trifles give. 

Else you may die ere you have 
learned to live. Young. 



272 



TRIFLES — THE TRINITY. 



Most of the critical things in 
life, which become the starting- 
points of human destiny, are little 
things. — Rev. R. Smith. 



®^^ Criniig. 

After all the ontcry that has 
been made of absurdity and con- 
tradiction in terms in that Scrip- 
ture proposition, " these three are 
one," I cannot see anything in it 
that is shocking to reason at all; 
that the same thing, or the same 
being, should be one in one sense, 
and two, tliree, or more in another 
sense, where is the absurdity of it ; 
that length, breadth, and thickness 
should be three dimensions of one 
and the same solid body ; that the 
king of Great Britain, the duke of 
Brunswick, and the archtreasurer 
of the Roman Empire, should be 
one and the same man, where is 
the absurdity or contradiction ? 
I do not mention these as any sort 
of illustration of the divine Trin- 
ity and unity ; most probably no 
proper similitude can be found in 
all the AA'orlds of creatures to illus- 
trate that by; but yet they are 
proper enough to show, that it is 
not in itself absurd ; it is no con- 
tradiction in terms to say these 
"three are one," since the very 
same may be said most reasonably 
and truly about several other cases 
or matters ; that in one sense and 
one respect they are three or 
more, while in some other sense 
or respect they are but one. And 



who then will take upon him to 
say that it can in no sense be truly 
said of the divine nature, and of 
the divine persons, "these three 
are one God." To say that three 
are one in the same sense, and in 
the very same respect in which 
they are three, would no doubt be 
a contradiction in terms, as that 
three persons are one person, or 
three Gods are one God. But the 
Scripture says no such matter, and 
we say no such thing ; all the pre- 
tended absurdity in this doctrine 
is made by the objectors falsely 
representing our sentiments. It 
is true, indeed, that the doctrine 
of the Trinity surpasses our pres- 
ent reason, and so do a thousand 
things besides, which yet we know 
are true and real. We know so 
little even of ourselves, and how 
our own souls and bodies are 
united in one man, that surely we 
must not expect to understand the 
infinite divine nature. It argues 
both pride and ignorance for some 
to refuse to believe what God, 
who only knows himself, has been 
pleased to declare concerning his 
own nature, merely because tlieir 
narrow minds cannot comprehend 
the full meaning of it. I desire 
humbly and contentedly to take 
God's word, and to believe what- 
ever he tells me to be true, though 
I am not able to conceive every- 
thing about it. — Br. David Jex- 
xixos. 

He who goes about to speak of 
the mystery of the Trinity, and 
does it by words and names of 



TRINITY. THE — TROUBLE. 



273 



man's invention, talking of es- 
sences and existences, hypostases 
and personalities, priority and co- 
equalities, and unity in pluralities, 
may amuse himself, and build a 
tabernacle in his head, and talk 
something he knows not what; 
but the good man that feels the 
power of the Father, and to whom 
the Son is wisdom, sanctitlcation, 
and redempticm, in whose heart 
the love of the Spirit of God is 
shed abroad, this man, though he 
knows nothing of nice distinctions 
on this subject, yet he alone truly 
understands the Christian doctrine 
of the Trinity. — Taylou. 

The doctrine of the Trinity is a 
fandamental doctrine, the belief of 
which is necessary to salvation ; 
for those who are without the 
Father (Eph. ii, 12) cannot be 
saved. It is also said, (1 John 
ii. 23,) "Whoso denieth the Son 
hath not the Father;" and in Rom. 
viii. !), it is likewise said, ''He that 
hath not the S[)irit is none of his." 
This important sentiment is inter- 
woven with the whole of real re- 
ligion, and there can neither be 
any true faith, Avorship, or obedi- 
ence without it. "Where is faith 
if this be taken away? for it is 
declared in John xvii, 8, "This is 
life eternal to know thee, the only 
true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
thou hast sent;" and it is further 
declared in 1 John v, 7, "There are 
three that bear record in heaven, 
the Father, the Word, and the 
Holy Ghost, and these three are 
one ;" and as we are baptized in 



the name of the sacred three, 
therefore we must believe e(pially 
in them. So as to worship, it is 
said in Eph. ii, 18, " Through him 
we both have access by one spirit 
to the Father;" also as to obedi- 
ence, in John xv, 10 we read of 
"the Father's commandments." 
In 2 Cor. v, 14 it is said, " The love 
of Christ constraineth us;" and in 
Eph. V, 9 it is declared that "the 
fruit of the Spirit is in all good- 
ness." Thus, without the assist- 
ance of each of the sacred three, 
we cannot believe, worship, or 
serve God. The mystery of the 
Trinity is above reason, but not 
contrary to it ; for reason, though 
it could not have brought it to 
light, yet when it is discovered it 
must needs yield to it ; for as the 
judgment of sense must be cor- 
rected by reason, so the judgment 
of reason must be corrected by 
faith. — BosTOX. 



Troubles spring from idleness, 
and grievous toils from needless 
ease. Many without labor would 
live by their own wits only ; but 
they break for want of stock. — 
Feaxklix. 

We are born to trouble : and Ave 
may depend upon it while Ave live 
in this^Avorld Ave shall have it, 
though with intermissions; that 
is, in whatever state Ave are, Ave 
shall find a mixture of good and 
evil. And therefore the true wav 



274 



TFvUTPI. 



to contentment is to know how to 
receive these certain vicissitudes 
of life, tlie returns of good and 
evil, so as neither to be exalted 
by the one or overthrown by the 
other, but to bear ourselves toward 
everything which hajjpens with 
such ease and indiiference of mind 
as to hazard as little as may be. 
This is the true temperate climate 
titted us by nature, and in which 
every wise man would wish to 
live. — Steene. 



God is the author of truth, the 
devil the father of lies. If the 
telling of a truth shall endanger 
thy life, the author of truth will 
protect thee from the danger, or 
reward thee for thy damage. If 
the telling of a lie may secure thy 
life, the father of lies will beguile 
thee of thy gains, or traduce the 
security. Better by losing of a 
life to save it, than by saving of a 
life to lose it. However, better 
thou perish than the truth. — EiS"- 

CHIEIDIOX. 

"There is nothing," says Plato, 
" so delightful as the hearing or the 
speaking of the truth." For this 
reason there is no conversation so 
agreeable as that of the man of 
integrity, who hears without any 
intention to betray, and speaks 
without any intention to deceive. 
— Deax Sherlock. 



The study of truth is perpetu- 
ally joined with the love of virtue ; 
for there is no virtue which derives 
not its original from truth, as, on 
the contrary, there is no vice 
which has not its beginning from 
a lie. Truth is the foundation of 
all knowledge, and the cement of 
all societies. — Casaubon. 

Weigh not so much what men 
assert, as what they prove; re- 
membering that truth is simple 
and naked, and needs not inven- 
tion to apparel her comeliness. — 
Sir p. Sidney. 

He that would make a real prog- 
ress in knowledge must dedicate 
his age as well as youth, the latter 
growth as well as the first-fruits, on 
the altar of truth. — Berkeley. 

Truth has no gradations. IsToth- 
ing which admits of increase can 
be so much what it is as truth is 
truth. There may be a strange 
thing^ and a thing more strange. 
But if a proposition be true^ there 
can be none more true. — Johnsox. 

My principal method for defeat- 
ing error and heresy is by establish- 
ing the truth. One purposes to fill a 
bushel with tares ; but if I can fill 
it first with wheat I may defy his 
attempts. — John Newton. 

It is not enough that we swal- 
low truth. "We must feed upon 
it, as insects do on the leaf, 
till the whole heart be colored 



TRUTH. 



by its qualities, and slio\v its food 
in every fiber. — Coleeidge. 

Maxt truths now of reverend 
esteem and credit had their birth 
and beginning once from singular 
and private thoughts, while the 
most of men were otherwise pos- 
sessed, and had the fate at first to 
be generally exploded and ex- 
claimed on by many violent op- 
posers. Yet truth in some age or 
other will find her witness, and 
shall be justified at last by her 
own children. — Miltox. 

Ix order that all men may be 
taught to speak truth, it is neces- 
sary that all likewise should learn 
to hear it ; for no species of false- 
hood is more frequent than flat- 
tery, to which the coward is be- 
trayed by fear, the dependent by 
interest, and the friend by ten- 
derness. Those who are neither 
servile nor timorous are yet desir- 
ous to bestow pleasure ; and while 
unjust demands of praise continue 
to be made, there will always be 
some whom hope, fear, or kindness 
will dispose to pay them. 

Plato is a friend, and Socrates 
is a friend ; but truth is a greater 
friend. — Aeistotle. 

Teuth will be uppermost one 
time or other, like cork, though 
kept down in the water. — Sie W. 
Temple, 

Theee is no crime more infa- 
mous than the violation of truth. 



It is apparent that men can be 
sociable beings no longer than 
they can believe each other. 
When speech is employed only as 
the vehicle of falsehood, every 
man must disunite himself from 
others, inhabit his own cave, and 
seek prey only for himself. — Joiix- 
sox. 

TErTH, as it is a moral virtue, 
signifies a conformity of words to 
thoughts, then it is styled verac- 
ity; and when it signifies a con- 
formity of actions to words, then 
it is styled faithfulness. — Peice. 

Teuth haunts no corners, seeks 
no by-ways. If thou profess it, 
do it openly ; if thou seek it, do 
it fairly. He deserves not to pro- 
fess truth that professes it fear- 
fully ; he deserves not to find the 
truth that seeks it fraudulently. — 
Quaeles. 

A STEiCT adherence to truth is 
not only an essential duty in a 
religious point of view, but is in- 
dispensably necessary to preserve 
the morals of any community. If 
we allow ourselves little devia- 
tions, and consider them as tri- 
fiing, our minds will, by degrees, 
grow callous to things of more im- 
portance, and we shall be in dan- 
ger of finding some valve for the 
grossest violations of the principles 
of truth. 

Teetulliax makes an ingenious 
reflection upon the proceedings of 
the judges of his time against the 



276 TKUTH— UNANIMITY — UNBELIEF— UNCERTAINTY. 



Christians. When the criminals 
that are accused before the tribu- 
nals of justice deny the crime that 
thej are accused of, you order that 
they shall be put to the rack, that 
torture may force them to confess 
something. You torture only 
Christians to compel them to 
deny. A man cries out in the 
midst of his torments, "I am a 
Christian." He says what he is; 
you on the contrary desire to hear 
what he is not. 'Tis strange that 
to you, who are established to 
draw the truth out of the mouth 
of criminals, we are the only per- 
sons out of whose mouth you 
would draw a lie. 

Teuth crushed to earth will rise 
again ; 
The eternal years of God are 
hers ; 
But error, wounded, writhes in 
pain, 
And dies amid her worshipers. 
Bryaxt. 

Teuth always fits. It is always 
congruous, and agrees with itself. 
Every truth in the universe also 
agrees with all others. — Daxiel 
Webstee. 

Teuth will overcome all her 
foes, sooner or later, and in heaven 
will wear the badge of "Truth, 
the Conqueror."— SiMMoxs. 

The greatest friend to truth is 
time; her greatest enemy, preju- 
dice ; and her constant companion, 
humility. 



E'na;nimii5. 



The best ornament of a family 
is unanimity. — Asiatic Peoveeb. 



MnMui 

Even when Peter was just sink- 
ing into the water through unbe- 
lief, the compassionate hand of our 
Lord was instantly stretched forth. 
And he has passed his word on 
the sinner's behalf, "that whoso- 
ever cometh unto him he will in 
nowise cast out." Whosoever is a 
very extensive word for a sinner's 
encouragement; while that other 
expression, in nowise, though they 
have been among the vilest of the 
vile, gives the greatest encourage- 
ment to the humble penitent if he 
really believes. — E. Hill. 

O misfoetuxe ! perverseness ! 
One man believes another upon 
his word, and yet a man doth not 
believe God upon his. We hope 
for what a man promises, and not 
for what God does. All human 
atfairs are carried on by the hope 
of what is to come. Even this 
temporal life is subsisted and sup- 
ported only by hope. God only 
is not trusted. — Salviax. 



Mnaxtmxiis* 

Nothing continues long. Ev- 
erything passes away, everything 
vanishes in a little time. Who 



UXI VERSE — UXAYOKTIIINESS — USEFULXESS. 



could believe that Rome, born in 
victories, and become the mistress 
of the Avorld by her conquests, 
should fall so soon to decay, and 
serve herself as a sepulcher to her 
own people, to whom she had 
been as a mother. — St. Jerome. 

XoxnixG is sure that grows on 
earthly ground. Spexsee. 



Xo MAX should so act as to take 
advantage of another man's igno- 
rance. — Cicero. 



WinxbtxBt 

The whole universe is a picture 
which displays the perfections of 
the Deity, or it may be considered 
as a museum of the natural works 
of God. Who was it that so ex- 
quisitely adorned the earth with 
various and inimitable beauties? 
The same Grod who is the author 
of eternal salvation. The beauty, 
the regularity, and the utility of 
the works of creation should lead 
us to study the superior works of 
redemption and grace which are 
wrought by the same almighty 
hand. — Wesley. 



i;tito0r%i 



amBB. 

We are never so worthy as 
when we feel and lament our un- 



wortliiness; and never so un- 
worthy as when we ignorantly 
imagine ourselves to be worthy. 
— r] Hill. 



WiBdnhxtBB. 

Be useful where thou livest, that 
they may 
Both want and wish thy pleas- 
ing presence still. 
Kindness, good parts, great places 
are the way 
To compass this. Find out 
men's wants and will, 
And meet them there. All world- 
ly joys go less 
To the one joy of doing kindness. 
Herbert. 

He that ceases to be useful to 
others becomes a burden to him- 
self. 

The usefulness of a pious life, 
earnestly devoted to doing good, 
as God requires, cannot be esti- 
mated till the heavens and the 
earth pass away. God has kindly 
established a reach to earthly use- 
fulness that will not fully appear 
till the revelations of the great 
day. — Simmons. 

More hearts pine away in secret 
anguish for unkindness from those 
who should be their comforters, 
than for any other calamity in 
life. — YoiiNO. 



278 



VAINGLOR Y — Y ALOR — VANITY. 



Yai:ngloet is a flower wliicli 
never comes to fruit. — Spanish 
Peoyeeb. 



Peefect valor is to do unwit- 
nessed what we should be capable 
of doing before all the world. — 
La Rochefoucauld. 

Teue valor braves danger with- 
out neglecting resources. — Stan- 
islaus. 

He's truly valiant, that can wisely 

suffer 
The worst that man can breathe ; 

and make his wrongs 
His outsides; to wear them like 

his raiment, carelessly ; 
And ne'er prefer his injuries to 

his heart, 
To bring it into danger. 

Shakspeaee. 

No MAN can answer for his valor 
or courage till he has been in dan- 
ger. — La Rochefoucauld. 



"The wicked shall consume 
away like smoke." Smoke, in 
going up, makes a great cloud; 
but the thicker and larger this 
cloud is, the less consistency and 
substance it has, and for this rea- 
son also it soon disperses and van- 



islies, so that even its greatness is 
what most destroys it. This is 
the true symbol of the vanity and 
decay of human greatness. — St, 
Austin. 

I WILL not call vanity and affec- 
tation twins, because, more prop- 
erly, vanity is the mother, and 
affectation is the darling daughter ; 
vanity is the sin, and affectation is 
the punishment: the first may be 
called the root of self-love, the 
other the fruit. Vanity is never 
at its full growth till it spreadeth 
into affectation, and then it is 
complete. — Saville. 

EvEEY man has just as much 
vanity as he wants understand- 
ing. — Pope. 

If vanity does not entirely over- 
throw the virtues, at least it makes 
them all totter. — La Rochefou- 
cauld. 

What renders the vanity of 
others insupportable, is that it 
wounds our own. — La Rochefou- 
cauld. 

iSToTHiNG is so credulous as van- 
ity, or so ignorant of what becomes 
itself. — Shakspeaee. 

Vanity is less insupportable 
than affected modesty. — Stanis- 



To play with important truths, 
to disturb the repose- of estab- 



VANITY — A'ICE, 



279 



lished tenets, to subtilize objec- 
tions and elude proof, is too often 
the sport of youthful vanity, of 
which maturer experience com- 
monly repents. There is a time 
when every man is weary of rais- 
ing: difficulties only to task him- 
self with the solution, and desires 
to enjoy truth without the labor 
or hazard of contest. — JonxsoN. 

All that in this world is great 
or gay, 

Doth, as a vapor, vanish and de- 
cay. Spexsek. 

Ix every instance of vanity it 
will be found that the blame ought 
to be shared among more than it 
generally reaches. All who exalt 
trifles by immoderate praise, or in- 
stigate needless eraiilation by in- 
vidious incitements, are to be con- 
sidered as perverters of reason, 
and corrupters of the world ; and 
since every man is obliged to pro- 
mote happiness and virtue, he 
should be careful not to mislead 
unwary minds, by appearing to 
set too high a value npon things 
by which no real excellence is con- 
ferred. JOHXSOX. 

Vanity keeps persons in fa- 
vor with themselves who are out 
of favor with all others. — Shak- 

SPEAEE. 

Of all the vanities and fopper- 
ies the vanity of high birth is the 
greatest. True nobility is derived 
from virtue, not from birth. 



Titles, indeed, may be purchased ; 
but virtue is the only coin tliat 
makes the bargain valid. — Burton. 



WUL 



CouNTEKFEiT virtucs Ere the 
most successful vices. 

We may fiill into vice even by 
the way of virtue. If we do not 
keep a just measure, we shall be 
in danger of being proud because 
we are humble. — St. Paulix. 

Vices never deceive but under 
tlie mask of virtues. — St. Jerome. 

WnERE vice prevails, and impious 
men bear sway, 

The post of honor is a private sta- 
tion. ShAKSPEAPwE. 

If, being a magistrate, thou con- 
nivest at vice, thou nourishest it ; 
if thou sparest it, thou committest 
it ; what is not by thee punished 
in others, is made punishable in 
thee. He that favors present evils, 
entails them upon his posterity; 
he that excuses the guilty con- 
demns the innocent. — ^Exchirid- 

lOX. 

Vice is the greatest slaveiy, as 
it brings the sinner under the do- 
minion of Satan and evil habits 
and passions. Immediately after 
sin becomes customary, the sinner 
may be said to have thrown him- 
self into the middle of the torrent. 



280 



VICE — YIGILAXCE —VIRTUE. 



against which he maj sometimes 
faintly struggle, but the impetuos- 
ity of the stream bears him along. 
In this situation he does not go, 
but is driven, tossed, agitated, and 
impelled, passive like a ship in the 
violence of a storm. By long in- 
dulgence the bondage of sinners 
becomes more confirmed and more 
miserable; and they are often re- 
duced to a condition so wretched, 
that though their sensual pleas- 
ures become insipid, yet they still 
are so dreadfully deluded as to 
continue in them. — Dr. Blair. 

1^0 VASSALAGE Is SO iguoblc, no 
servitude so miserable, as that of 
vice. Mines and galleys, mills and 
dungeons, are words of ease to the 
service of sin; therefore, the bring- 
ing sinners to repentance is so no- 
ble, so tempting a design, that it 
drew even God himself from heav- 
en to prosecute it. — Baxter. 

Vice is a gradual and easy de- 
scent, and the declivity at every 
pace becomes more steep ; and 
those who descend go down every 
moment with greater rapidity. — 
Dr. Hawkesworth. 

Some persons lose their abhor- 
rence of crime in their admiration 
of its magnificent and pleasing ex- 
hibitions, — Daxiel Webster. 



WxQxhntt 

If, after having renounced all, 
we do not watch incessantly, and 



beseech God to accompany our 
vigilance with his, we shall be 
again entangled and overcome. — 
JoHX Wesley. 

It behoves him to be vigilant 
who wishes to do his duty in good 
time. — Platjtus. 



Wxxint 

Pretexders to virtue are those 
who disguise their faults from oth- 
ers as well as from themselves. 
The truly virtuous know their 
imperfections, and confess them. 
— La Rochefoucauld. 

We should chiefly exercise our 
love toward them who most shock 
either our way of thinking, or our 
temper, or our knowledge, or the 
desire we have that others should 
be virtuous, as we wish to be our- 
selves. — JoHx Wesley. 

EoR the credit of virtue, it must 
be admitted that the greatest evils 
which befall mankind are caused 
by their crimes. — La Rochefou- 
cauld. 

Were not the children of good 
parents sometimes evil, and the 
children of evil parents good, vir- 
tue would seem natural, and the 
Giver lose his thanks. — Hall. 

St. Jerome, to stop the mouth 
of those Avho found fault with him 
for having a correspondence of 
learning with Eusthochium, ^ho 



VIRTUE. 



281 



was but a yonng lady, ingeniously 
says that Aim and Deborah proph- 
esied -while men were silent, and 
tliat in the service of Christ. 'Tis 
not the sex, but virtue makes a 
distinction. 

The lofty mountain of virtue is 
of quite a contrary make to all 
other mountains. In the mount- 
ains of the earth the skirts are 
pleasant, but the tops rough; 
whereas the skirt of the mountain 
of virtue is harsh, but the top de- 
licious. He who studies to come 
at it, meets in his first step noth- 
ing but stones, briers, and thistles; 
but the roughness of the way di- 
minishes as he proceeds on his 
journey, and the pleasure of it in- 
creases, until at length he finds 
nothing but beautiful flowers, 
choice plants, and crystal fount- 
ains. — TiLLOTSOX. 

Coxscious remorse and anguish 
must be felt, 

To curb desire, to break the stub- 
born will. 

And work a second nature in the 
soul. 

Ere virtue can regain the place 
she lost. Howe. 

Show a good man his error, and 
he turns it into a virtue; a bad 
man doubles his fault. — Peoveeb. 

TiiEEE is no virtue that adds so 
noble a charm to the finest traits 
of beauty, as that vrhich exerts it- 
self in watching over the tranquil- 



lity of an aged parent. There are 
no tears that give so rich and 
sweet a luster to the cheek of i 
innocence as the tears of filial sor- 
row. — St. Julian. 

An old man who has lived in 
the exercise of virtue, looking 
back without a blush on his past 
days, and pointing to that better 
state where alone he can be per- 
fectly rewarded, is a figure the 
most venerable that can well be 
imagined. — Mackenzie. 

It is not the painting, gilding, 
or carving that makes a good ship ; 
but if she be a nimble sailer, tight 
and strong to endure the seas, 
that is her excellency. It is the 
edge and temper of the blade that 
makes a good sword, not the rich- 
ness of the scabbai-d. And so it 
is not money or possessions that 
make man considerable, but his 
virtue. — Seneca. 

A MAN that hath no virtue in 
himself ever envieth virtue in 
others. For men's minds will 
either feed upon their own good 
or upon others' evil; and who 
wanteth the one will prey upon 
the other. — Lord Bacon. 

Tde virtue which we gatlier 
from a fable or an allegory is like 
the health we get by hunting ; as 
we are engaged in an agreeable 
pursuit that draws us on with 
pleasure, and makes us insensible 
of the fatigues that accompany it. 
— Addison. 



282 



VIRTUE. 



The gods in bounty work up 

storms about us, 
Tbat give mankind occasion to 

exert 
Tbeir hidden strength, and throw 

out into practice 
Virtues that shun the day, and lie 

concealed 
In the smooth seasons and the 

calms of life. Addisox. 

I CAXXOT praise a fugitive and 
cloistered virtue unexercised and 
unbreathed, that never sallies out 
and sees her adversary, but slinks 
out of the race, where that im- 
mortal garland is to be run for, 
not without dust and heat. As- 
suredly we bring not innocence 
into the world; we bring im- 
purity much rather. That which 
purifies us is trial, and trial is by 
what is contrary. 

Theee are two things which 
speak as with a voice from heaven, 
that He that fills that eternal 
throne must be on the side of vir- 
tue, and that which he befriends 
must finally prosper and prevail. 
The first is that the bad are never 
completely happy and at ease, 
although possessed of everything 
that this world can bestow ; and 
that the good are never completely 
miserable, although deprived of 
everything that this world can 
take away. We are so framed 
and constituted that the most vi- 
cious cannot but pay a secret 
though unwilling homage to vir- 
tue, inasmuch as the worst men 



cannot bring themselves thor- 
oughly to esteem a bad man, al- 
though he may be their dearest 
friend, nor can they thoroughly 
despise a good man, although he 
may be their bitterest enemy. 
From this inward esteem for vir- 
tue, which the noblest cherish, 
and which the basest cannot expel, 
it follows that virtue is the only 
bond of union on which we can 
thoroughly depend. — Coltox. 

He that would govern his ac- 
tions by the laws of virtue must 
regulate his thoughts by the laws 
of reason. He must keep guilt 
from the recesses of his heart, and 
remember that the pleasures of 
fancy and the emotion of desire 
are more dangerous as they are 
more hidden, since they escape 
the awe of observation, and oper- 
ate equally in every situation, 
without the concurrence of ex- 
ternal opportunities. 

Virtue is the true nobility of a 
virtuous man ; for as the merit 
and glory of ancestors is what 
distinguishes and illustrates fami- 
lies, so virtues ennoble great souls 
and increase their splendor. — St. 
Ambrose. 

Ko MAX who confides in his 
own virtue envies that of another. 
— Cicero. 

Make not the consequence of 
virtue the ends thereof. Be not 
beneficent for a name or cymbal 



VIRTUE — WAR. 



283 



of applause; nor exact and just in 
commerce for the advantages of 
trust and credit, wliich attend the 
reputation of true and punctual 
dealing ; for these rewards, though 
unsought for, plain virtue will 
bring with her. To have other 
by-ends in good actions sours laud- 
able performances, which must 
have deeper roots, motives, and 
instigations to give them the 
stamp of virtues. — Sir T. Beowne. 

Certainly virtue is like pre- 
cious odors, most fragrant when 
thej are crushed ; for prosperity 
doth best discover vice, but ad- 
versity doth best discover virtue. 
If you listen even to David's harp 
you shall hear as many hearse-like 
airs as carols ; and the pencil of the 
Holy Spirit hath labored more in 
describing the afflictions of Job 
than the felicities of Solomon. — 
Bacox. 

To ARREST an importunate ap- 
petite, to silence the clamor of a 
passion, and to repel an assault 
upon our virtue, are noble in- 
stances of force, and handsome 
proofs of temper and discretion. — 
J. Collier. 

Virtue and genuine graces in 

themselves 
Speak what no words can utter. 
Shakspeare. 

A TRULY virtuous man is he 
who prides himself on nothing.— 
La Rochefoucauld. 



Xo MAN should be so taken up 
in the search of truth as thereby 
to neglect the more" necessary du- 
ties of active life, for after all is 
done, it is action only that gives a 
true value and commendation to 
virtue. —Cicero. 

So much power hath virtue, 
that after death it triumphs over 
the living. — St. Chrysostom. 

Virtue, not rolling suns, the mind 

matures ; 
That life is long which answers 

life's great end. Young. 

Virtue is the universal charm. 
When the substance is' wanting 
men court the shadow. 

Virtue needs no outward pomp. 
Her very countenance is so full of 
majesty that the proudest pay 
her respect, and the profanest are 
awed by her presence. 



(mux. 

War is one of the greatest plagues 
that can afflict humanity. It de- 
stroys religion, it destroys states, 
it destroys families. Any scourge, 
in fact, is preferable to it. Famine 
and pestilence become as nothing in 
comparison with it. Pestilence is 
the least evil of the three, and 
'twas therefore David chose it, 
willing rather to fall into the 
hands of God than into those 
of pitiless man. — Luther. 



284 



WAR — WEAKNESS — WEALTH. 



Rash, fruitless Avar, from wanton 

giorj waged, 
Is onlj splendid murder ! 

Thomson. 

Wae suspends the rules of 
moral obligation, and wliat is long 
suspended is in danger of being 
totally abrogated. Civil war 
strikes deepest of all into the 
manners of the people. They 
vitiate their politics, they corrupt 
their morals, they pervert even 
the natural taste and relish of 
equity and justice. By teaching 
us to consider our fellow-creatures 
in a hostile light, the whole body 
of our nation becomes gradually 
less dear to us. The very names 
of affection and kindred, which 
were the bond of charity while 
we agreed, become new incentives 
to hatred and rage when the com- 
munion of our country is dissolved. 

BUEKE. 

Of all the evils to public lib- 
erty war is perhaps the most to be 
dreaded, because it comprises and 
develops the genius of every other. 
War is the parent of armies ; from 
these proceed debt and taxes. 
And armies, and debt, and taxes 
are the known instruments for 
bringing the many under the do- 
minion of the few. In war, too, 
the discretionary power of the 
executive is extended ; its influ- 
ence in dealing out olSices, honors, 
and emoluments is multiplied; 
and all the means of seducing the 
minds are added to those of sub- 



duing the force of the people. 
The same malignant aspect in re- 
publicanism may be traced in the 
inequality of fortunes and oppor- 
tunities of fraud, growing out of a 
state of war, and in the degener- 
acy of manners and morals engen- 
dered by both. jSTo nation could 
preserve its freedom in the midst 
of continual warfare. — Madison. 

Wae, the trade of barbarians, 
and the art of bringing the great- 
est physical force to bear on a 
single point. — Nafoleox. 



WimkmnB. 

Some wavering professors are 
like loose tiles on a house, that are 
easily blown down by the wind of 
false doctrine. — Guexall. 

To EXCUSE our faults on the 
ground of our weakness is to quiet 
our fears at the expense of our 

hopes. 



If thou art rich, strive to com- 
mand thy money lest she command 
thee. . If thou know how to use 
her, she is thy servant; if not, 
thou art her slave.-|-ExcniEiD]ox. 

Wealth is a rank soil, in which, 
unless carefully managed, the 
weeds will quickly spring up, over- 
top the plants, and choke the grain. 
— Collier. 



AVEALTII. 



285 



It is only -wlien the rich are 
sick tliat they fully feel the impo- 
tence of wealth. — Coltox. 

As xnEEE is no -worldly gain 
without some loss, so there is no 
worldly loss without some gain. 
If thou hast lost thy wealth, thou 
hast lost some trouble with it; if 
thou art degraded from thy honor, 
thou art likewise freed from the 
stroke of envy; if sickness hath 
blurred thy beauty, it hath deliv- 
ei-ed thee from pride. Set the al- 
lowance against the loss, and thou 
shalt find no loss great. He loses 
little or nothing that reserves him- 
self. EXCUIEIDIOX. 

The rich man hath many friends, 
although in truth riches have them 
and not the man. As the ass that 
carried the Egyptian goddess had 
many bowed knees, yet not to the 
beast, but to the burden ; for 
separate the riches from the per- 
son, and thou shalt see friendship 
leave the man and follow that 
which was ever her object. While 
he may command, and can either 
give or control, he hath attend- 
ance and proffer of love at all 
hands; but Avhich of these dares 
acknowledge him when he is 
going to prison for debt? Then 
these wasps that made such music 
about this gallipot, show plainly 
that they came only for the honey 
that was in it. This is the misery 
of the wealthy, that they cannot 
know their friends ; whereas those 
that love the poor man, love him 



for himself. He that would choose 
a true friend, must search out one 
that is neither covetous nor ambi- 
tious ; for such a one loves but 
himself in thee ; and if it be rare 
to find any not infected with these 
qualities, the best is to entertain 
all and trust few. — Hall. 

Excessive wealth is neither glo- 
ry nor happiness. Tlie cold and 
sordid wretch who thinks only of 
himself; who draws his head with- 
in his shell, and never puts it out 
but for the purpose of lucre and 
ostentation ; who looks upon his 
fellow-creatures, not only without 
sympathy, but with arrogance and 
insolence, as if they were made to 
be his vassals, and he to be their 
lord ; as if they Avere made for no 
other purpose than to pamper his 
avarice, or to contribute to his ag- 
grandizement ; such a man may be 
rich, but trust me, he can never 
be happy, nor virtuous, nor great. 
There is in a fortune a golden 
mean, which is the appropriate 
region of virtue and intelligence. 
Be content with that; and if the 
horn of plenty overflow, let its 
droppings fall upon your fellow- 
men ; let them fcill like the drop- 
pings of honey in the wilderness, 
to cheer the faint and weary pil- 
grim. WiET. 

AViiEEE great wealth is, there are 
also all manner of sins ; for through 
wealtli comes pride, through pride 
dissension, through dissension wars, 
through wars poverty, through pov- 



286 



WEALTH— WICKEDI^ESS— WIFE— WISDOM. 



erty great distress and misery. 
Therefore, they that are rich must 
yield a strict and great account; 
for to whom much is given, of him 
much will be required. — Luthee. 

A RICH man would be ashamed 
of himself if a poor beggar-boy 
should claim such a relationship 
as the meanest Christian may claim 
to God. O what a mercy it is to 
be enabled to say, "Our Father, 
who art in heaven.'' — R. Hill. 

Cax wealth give happiness? look 

round and see 
What gay distress, wliat splendid 

misery. 
A wicked man, with all his splen- 

. did store. 
Is but a wretch magnificently poor. 
ISTothing is meaner than a wretch 

of state ; 
The pious only are the truly great. 

YOL'XG. 

Seek not proud wealth; but 
such as thou mayest get justly, 
use soberly, distribute cheerfully, 
and leave contentedly. — Lord 
Bag ox. 

Agar said, "Give me neither 
poverty nor riches;" and this will 
ever be the prayer of the wise. 
Our incomes should be like our 
shoes : if too small they will gall 
and pinch us ; but if too large they 
will cause us to stumble and to 
trip. But wealth, after all, is a 
relative thing, since he that has 
little and wants less, is richer than 



he that has much but wants more. 
True contentment depends not 
upon what we have. A tub was 
large enough for Diogenes, but a 
world was too little for Alexan- 
4er. — CoLTON, 



The essence of all wickedness is 
a forsaking of God. Hence the 
psalmist set the Lord always be- 
fore hira. I can do all for God, 
when God does all for me. — li. 
Hill. 

No oxE is wicked without loss 
and punishment. — Epictetus. 



Mife. 

A faithful wife 
Becomes the truest and the ten- 

derest friend. 
The balm of comfort, and the source 

of joy; 

Through every various turn of life 
the same. Savage. 

JSTevee select a wife till you find 
a kindred spirit and suitable com- 
panion. SiMMOXS. 



Wim)yom. 

WouLDST thou not be thought 
a fool in another's conceit, be not 
wise in thine own. He that trusts 
to his own wisdom, proclaims his 



\\'1SD0^I. 



own fully. lie is truly wise, and 
shall appear so, that hath folly 
enough to be thought not worldly 
wise, or wisdom enough to see his 
own folly. — QuAELES. 

A man's wisdom is his best 
friend ; folly his worst enemy. — 
SiK W. Temple. 

He alone is wise who can ac- 
commodate himself to all the con- 
tingencies of life; but the fool 
contends, and is struggling, like a 
swimmer against the stream. 

The over curious are not over 
wise. — Massixgee. 

How MANY there are that think 
there is no wisdom but in a dull 
indifference, and choose rather to 
freeze than burn ! — Hall. 

Wisdom excels other things, as 
sight does the other senses. — Bion. 

Few people are wise enough to 
prefer useful reproof to treacher- 
ous praise. — La Rochefoucatjld. 

Wisdom to gold prefer, for 'tis 
much less 

To make our fortune than our hap- 
piness. Young. 

"Wisdom without innocency is 
knavery; innocency without wis- 
dom is foolery. Be therefore as 
wise as serpents and innocent as 
doves. The subtilty of the ser- 
pent instructs the innocency of 

19 



the dove ; the innocency of the 
dove corrects the subtilty of the 
serpent. What God hath joined 
together let no man separate. — 

QuAELES. 

It is a great folly to wish to be 
exclusively wise. — La Rochefod- 

CATJLD. 

Of all things wisdom is the 
most terrified with epidemical fa- 
naticism, because of all enemies it 
is that against which she is the 
least able to furnish any kind of 
resource. — Bueke. 

XoT to know at large of things re- 
mote 

From use, obscure and subtle, but 
to know 

That which before us lies in daily 
life, 

Is the prime wisdom; what is 
more is fume. 

Or emptiness, or fond imperti- 
nence, 

And renders us, in things that 
most concern, 

Unpracticed, unprepared. 

MiLTOX. 

What is it to be wise ? 
'Tis but to know how little can be 

known, 
To see all others' faults, and feel 

our own. Pope. 

The wise and active conquer diffi- 
culties 

By daring to attempt them ; sloth 
and follv 



288 



^YISDOM— ^YIT. 



Shiver and shrink at sights of toil 

and hazard, 
And make the impossibility thev 

fear. Eowe. 

Wisdom is alchemy. Else it 
could not be wisdom. This is its 
unfailing characteristic, that it 
" finds good in everything," that 
it renders all things more precious. 
In this respect also does it renew 
the spirit of childhood within us. 
While foolishness hardens our 
hearts and narrows our thoughts, 
it makes us feel a childlike curios- 
ity and a childlike interest about 
all things. When our view is 
confined to ourselves, nothing is 
of value except what ministers in 
one way or other to our own per- 
sonal gratification ; but in propor- 
tion as it widens, our sympathies 
increase and multiply. And when 
Ave have learned to look on all 
things as God's works, then, as 
his works, they are all endeared 
to us. Hence nothing can be fur- 
ther from true wisdom than the 
mask of it assumed by men of the 
world, who aftect a cold indiffer- 
ence about whatever does not be- 
long to their own immediate circle 
of interests or pleasures. 

Wisdom prepares for the worst, 
but folly leaves the worst for the 
day when it comes. — Cecil. 

Of all parts of wisdom the prac- 
tice is the best. Socrates was es- 
teemed the wisest man of his time 
hecause he turned his acquired 



knowledge into morality, and 
aimed at goodness more than 
greatness. — Tillotson. 

ExTEEMES of fortune are true wis- 
dom's test, 

And he's of men most wise who 
bears them best. 

Philemon. 

A WISE man is one that knows 
how to turn to good account the 
knowledge which he has. He is 
not wise who has mastered all 
languages, all sciences, if he lacks 
the ability to use this knowledge. 
He is only stuflted. — H.W. Beechee. 



Wit. 

Wit charms the lively, but the 

grave oftends. 
And raises foes more often than 

makes friends. 

Stillixgfleet. 

Wit loses its respect with the 
good when seen in company 
with malice ; and to smile at the 
jest which plants a thorn in an- 
other's breast is to become a 
principal in the mischief. — SnEEi- 

DEX» 

Let your wit rather serve you 
for a buckler to defend yourself, 
by a handsome reply, than the 
sword to wound others, though 
with never so facetious a reproach, 
remembering that a word cuts 
deeper than a sharper weapon. 



WIT— WOMAX. 



289 



and the wound it makes is longer 
curing. — Osbor:?. 

Wit lies most in the assemblage 
of ideas, and putting those to- 
gether with quickness and variety 
wherein can be found any resem- 
blance or congruity thereby to 
make up pleasant pictures and 
agreeable visions in the fancy. 
Judgment, on the contrary, lies 
quite on the other side, in sepa- 
rating carefully one from another 
ideas wherein can be found the 
least difference, thereby to avoid 
being misled by similitude, and by 
affinity to take one thing for an- 
other. — Locke. 

In search for wit some lose their 
common-sense. — ^Pope. 



Wiamun. 

The tendency of womanly feel- 
ing must not be excluded from ex- 
erting its due influence on works 
of literature, because when the 
character of a nation is once truly 
formed, that noble sense of deli- 
cacy which is peculiar to the sex 
may do much toward maintaining 
it in its purity, and prevent it 
from overstepping the limits of 
the beautiful. — Schlegel. 

The modest virgin, the prudent 
wife, or the careful matron is 
much more serviceable in life than 
petticoated philosophers, bluster- 
ing heroines, or virago queens. 



She who makes her husband and 
her children happy, who reclaims 
the one from vice and trains up 
the other to virtue, is a much 
greater character than ladies de- 
scribed in romance, whose whole 
occupation is to murder mankind 
with shafts from their quiver or 
their eyes. — Goldsmith. 

Depeived of virtuous women, 

soon we miss 
The prize of friendship and the 

life of bliss. Savage. 

All the substance of the earth 
is not worth a virtuous and pru- 
dent wife. — Hall. 

ThePvE is nothing by which I 
have through life more profited 
than by the just observations, the 
good opinions, and sincere and 
gentle encouragement of amiable 
and sensible women. — Sir S. Rom- 



TToMAN was not taken from 
man's head, to rule over him, nor 
from his feet, to be trampled upon ; 
but from his side and under his 
arm, to be protected, and near his 
heart, to be cherished and loved. — 
IIexey. 

Seek to be good, but aim not to 
be great ; 

A woman's noblest station is re- 
treat ; 

Her fairest virtues fly from public 
sight ; 

Domestic worth : that shuns too 
strong a light. 

LoED Lyttleton. 



290 



WOMAN — WORDS — WOELD. 



Compassion is the highest ex- 
cellence of woman, and charity 
the root from which it springs. 
Female sympathy and pity are 
some of the finest touches of na- 
ture's pencil. 



Worirs. 

What you keep by you, you 
may change and mend. But 
words once spoke can never be 
recalled. — Eoscommon. 

Where words are scarce they're 
seldom spent in vain. — Shak- 

SPEAEE. 

My words fly up, my thoughts re- 
main below : 

Words without thoughts never to 
heaven go. Shakspeaee. 

IJsE soft words and hard argu- 
ments. — Peoveeb. 

WoEDS were first formed to ex- 
press external things; and those 
that are applied to express things 
internal and spiritual are almost 
all borrowed and used in a sort of 
figurative sense. Whence they 
are, most of them, attended with 
a great deal of ambiguity and un- 
fixedness in their signification, oc- 
casioning innumerable doubts, dif- 
ficulties, and confusions in inqui- 
ries and controversies about things 
of this nature. But language is 
much less adapted to express things 
in the mind of the incomprehensi- 



ble Deity, precisely as they are. 
We find a great deal of difficulty 
in conceiving exactly of the nature 
of our own souls. And notwith- 
standing all the progress which 
has been made in past and present 
ages in this kind of knowledge, 
whereby our metaphysics, as it 
relates to these things, is brought 
to greater perfection than it once 
was, yet here is still work enough 
left for future inquiries and re- 
searches, and room for progress 
still to be made for many ages and 
generations. — Edwaeds. 

WoEDS should be employed as 
the means, not as the end. Lan- 
guage is the instrument, convic- 
tion is the work. — Sie J. Eeynolds. 

Such as thy words are, such 
will thy affections be esteemed ; 
and such will thy deeds as thy 
affections, and such thy life as thy 
deeds. — Soceates. 



maxti}. 

The world is the great deceiver. 
We tread as within an enchanted 
circle, where scarcely anything ap- 
pears as it really is. We live in 
delusion, wander in the paradise 
of fools, continually striving for 
worldly success, which even when 
acquired seldom answers our ex- 
pectation. The world is too often 
considered as the field of pleasure, 
and therefore beat over and over 
in quest of it; but frequently 



WORLD. 



291 



where we have reckoned most 
upon enjoyment, there we have 
found the least. We too often 
forget that this is only a proba- 
tionary state, and so we madly 
pursue criminal or vain objects, 
while the substantial things of 
real religion are neglected. 

A MAN that depends on the 
riches and honors of this world, 
forgetting God and the welfare of 
his soul, is like a little child that 
holds a fair apple in the hand, of 
agreeable exterior, promising good- 
ness, but within 'tis rotten and full 
of worms. — Luther. 

How GREAT a pity that we 
should not feel for what end we 
are born into this world till just 
as we are leaving it. — Walshstg- 

HAM. 

Earth's highest station ends in 

" Here he lies ;" 
And "Dust to dust" concludes 

the noblest song. Young. 

They lose the world who buy it 
with much care. — Shakspeare. 

The world will be burned up, 
or you must leave it. Why then 
should night-dreams, day-shadows, 
water-froth, and common wild 
flowers run away with your heart 
in the mean time. When a real 
believer comes to the water side 
of the river Jordan, and sets his 
feet, as it were, in the boat which 
is to convey him over to Canaan, 
he will wonder at the folly of 



himself and others in loving the 
things of the world. — Ruther- 
ford. 

This world is a dream within a 
dream, and as we grow older each 
step is an awakening. The youth 
awakes, as he thinks, from child- 
hood ; the full-grown man despises 
the pursuits of youth as visionary, 
and the old man looks on manhood 
as a feverish dream. Death the 
last sleep ? No ! it is the last and 
final awakening! — W. Scott's 

LlEE. 

The great see the world at one 
end by flattery, the little at the 
other end by neglect ; the mean- 
ness which both discover is the 
same ; but how different, alas ! are 
the mediums through which it is 
seen ? — Greville. 

I pity the man who can travel 
from Dan to Beersheba and cry 
'tis all barren. And so it is, and 
so is all the world to him who will 
not cultivate the fruits it ofiers. — 
Sterne. 

Let us divorce the world, 
this deceitful world, which we 
cannot trust in whatsoever situa- 
tion we are. The great are no 
more secure here than the small. 
The low fortunes are almost al- 
ways oppressed, and their abjec- 
tion is their ruin; high for- 
tunes are tottering, and always 
ready to fall by their own height. 
Examine all the conditions of life, 
there is no repose to be expected 



292 



YOUTH. 



either at the bottom or at the top. 
Great misfortunes are unavoidable 
to both estates : the lowest is ex- 
posed to contempt, the highest to 
envy. — St. Euchee. 



Nothing is more evident from 
experience, than that the not using 
or employing any faculty or pow- 
er, either of body or soul, does in- 
sensibly weaken and impair that 
faculty ; as a sword, by long lying 
still, will contract a rust, which 
shall not only deface its bright- 
ness, but by degrees also consume 
its very substance. Doing noth- 
ing naturally ends in being noth- 
ing. To hide one's talent in the 
ground is to bury it ; and the burial 
of a thing either finds it dead, or 
will quickly make it so. 

How comes it to pass that there 
is often seen such a vast difference 
between the former and the latter 
part of some men's lives ? that 
those who first stepped forth into 
the world with high and promis- 
ing abilities, vigorous intellectuals, 
and clear morals, come at length 
to grow sots and epicures, mean 
in their discourses, and dirty in 
their practices; but that, as by 
degrees they remitted of their in- 
dustry, loathed their business, and 
gave way to their pleasures, they 
let fall those generous principles 
which in their youthful days had 
borne them upon the wing, and 
raised them to worthy and great 



thoughts; which thoughts and 
principles, not being kept up and 
cherished, but smothered in sens- 
ual delights, God for that cause 
suffered them to flag and sink into 
low and inglorious satisfactions, 
and to enjoy themselves more in 
a revel or a merry meeting than 
in being useful to a Church or a 
nation, in being a public good to 
society and a benefit to mankind? 
The parts that God gave them they 
held in unrighteousness, sloth, and 
sensuality, and this made God to 
desert and abandon thetn to them- 
selves, so that they have had a 
doting and a decrepit reason long 
before age had given them such a 
body. And therefore I could 
heartily wish that such young 
persons as hear me now would 
lodge this one observation deep in 
theu' minds : that God and nature 
have joined wisdom and virtue by 
such a near cognation, such an in- 
separable connection, that a wise, 
a prudent, and an honorable old 
age is seldom or never found, but 
as the reward and effect of a sober, 
a virtuous, and a well-spent youth. 
— EoBEET South. 

If the spring puts forth no blos- 
soms, in summer there will be no 
beauty, and in autumn no fruit. 
So if youth be trifled away with- 
out improvement, manhood will 
be contemptible, and old age mis- 
erable. — Blaie. 

The flower of youth never ap- 
pears more beautiful, and is nev- 



YOUTH — ZEAL. 



293 



er so fragrant, as when it bends 
toward the sun of righteousness. 

Youth is the season of hope, 
enterprise, and energy to a na- 
tion as well as an individual. — 
Williams. 

Youth is not rich in time — it may 
be poor. 

Part with it as with money, spar- 
ing; pay 

]^o moment, but in purchase of its 
worth ; 

And what its worth, ask death- 
beds, they can tell ! 

YOUXG. 

Youth of itself, to numerous ills 

betrayed. 

Requires a prop, and wants a 

friendly aid, Pitt. 

Ye who are old, 
Eemember youth with thought of 
like affection. 

Shakspeaee. 



When we bring zeal without 
knowledge, misconceits of faith, 
carnal affections, the devices of 
our will-worship, superstitions in- 
to God's service, we bring com- 
mon fire to his altar ; these flames 
were never of his kindling. He 
hates both altar, fire, priest, and 
sacrifice. — Hall. 

A GOOD man's zeal should be 
ever on the wing; but it should 



borrow the eyes of discernment 
and the hands of prudence, or it 
will be blind and extravagant. 

What manner of persons should 
Christian missionaries be "in all 
holy conversation and godliness?" 
How full of that heavenly-minded- 
ness, which shall raise them so far 
above the world as though they 
had scarce an existence in it! 
What a holy burning zeal for the 
salvation of souls! And what 
wisdom from above to conduct 
that zeal ! What purity of knowl- 
edge to deal with those whose 
deep-rooted fondness for their 
ancient superstitions will make 
them watch with a jealous eye 
over every attempt to declare 
among them "the truth as it is in 
Jesus." Nor should their patience, 
meekness, and child-like simplicity 
be less eminent than their zeal. 
They must win by love, and con- 
quer by holy perseverance. — R. 
Hill. 

Zeal for the public good is the 
characteristic of a man of honor 
and a gentleman, and must take 
the place of pleasures, profits, and 
all other private gratifications. 
Whoever wants this motive is an 
open enemy, or an inglorious neu- 
ter to mankind, in proportion to 
the misapplied advantages with 
which nature and fortune have 
blessed him. — Guardian". 

It is justly said, that in devo- 
tional offices passion becomes rea- 



294 



ZEAL. 



son and transport temper ; heaven 
must disdain the cold prayer, the 
lukewarm praise of insensibility or 
indifference. The spectators in a 
theater, the hearers at a concert, 
the merchant at the exchange, 
and the senator in the parliament- 
house, are allowed to be warm 
and zealous in matters that are 
very inferior to the great things 
of Christianity ; and shall the pro- 
fessors of the glorious Gospel be 
cold and indifferent in the best of 
causes? Has God bestowed on 
man a liveliness of fancy, a warmth 
of affection, and a heart vibrating 
with the tender chords of love, and 
not designed that these should be 
used ? Certainly not. The Scrip- 
ture gives us many examples of 
vigor and animation ; the raptur- 
ous style of prophecy, and the 
warm poetry of the psalms are 



striking proofs of it, and we are 
not wanting in examples there. 
Thus it is said that John the Bap- 
tist was a burning as well as a 
shining light; the zeal of Nehe- 
miah and Phineas is much com- 
mended; Paul in his writings 
shows great earnestness ; and our 
dear Saviour was remarkable for 
activity and zeal. Shall we, then, 
be dull and languid as followers 
of Christ, in showing our zeal for 
the captain of our salvation ? Ko ; 
the ardor which it inspires is laud- 
able, and should continually abide 
with us. — Dr. Knox. 

A ZEALOUS soul without meek- 
ness is like a ship in a storm, in 
danger of wrecks. A meek soul 
without zeal is like a ship in a 
calm, that moves not so fast as it 
ought. — Mason. 



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